Soul Eater: Bloody Sunday
by The Halfwit Tiger
Summary: AU from the Salvage Arc and OC-centric. Asura and Medusa have gone into hiding, while the mysterious Noah has been rapidly gathering followers. With their forces spread thin & all-out war being inevitable, Lord Death sends the teams of Spartoi across the world; to recruit independent Weapons and Meisters to train them and prepare. The full summary's inside, please Read and Review.
1. Prologue: The Meister Search Begins!

******Summary:** Death the Kidd has been successfully rescued from the Book of Eibon. But, the Kishin Asura and Medusa have gone into hiding. Furthermore, the mysterious Noah, who kidnapped Kidd in the first place has been amassing followers at a disturbing rate. To prepare for the inevitable clash, Lord Death has sent the teams of Spartoi across the world; to recruit independently operating Weapons and Meisters and bring them to Shibusen, to train them and prepare for the inevitable conflict. What will happen? Which side will prevail? At this point, it's anyone's game, so read and find out.

* * *

**SOUL EATER: Bloody Sunday**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the OC's, All copyrights go to Atsushi Ohkubo, Square Enix and Studio Bones. Also, this fic does require some background knowledge of the SE universe.  
**

The Shinigami Vocational School for Weapons and Meisters, more commonly known as Shibusen has existed for 800 years to combat the spread of Madness and protect the balance of the world. It has the sworn duty of Meisters and Weapons for generations, to hunt down any person who has been consumed by evil and has killed the innocent for their souls, these people will eventually transform into dangerous beings called Kishin. However, the revival of the first Kishin, Asura a year ago has stained the school's once flawless reputation. Now, within the Death Room, 3 teams of students have been called before Lord Death, or Shinigami-sama if you prefer, Spirit and Dr. Stein. These teams made up a part of the elite unit, Spartoi and were ready to receive their next mission.

"Yeah~ Yeah~ Hiya Spartoi~! You're all looking well~." Lord Death said, greeting his students in a goofy voice. "Well, anyway~ down to business." Almost instantly, his voice became serious. "We've received information that Noah and his group are gaining in numbers. Not only that, the Kishin's still out there, laying low and so is Medusa. Now, Dr. Stein if you would..."

"Thanks to these factors, the Madness spreading throughout the world is getting stronger and anti-Shibusen activity has increased. For some reason, these events have led to an increase in activity from independent Weapons and Meisters" Stein paused for a moment, and adjusted his glasses. "We'd to find some of these teams and try convincing them to join us, since Teams Ford, Rung and Dehl are already in the field, you three are the only ones available for this assignment." He went on, gesturing to a stack of folders on the table beside him. "Now, these folders hold all the data we've gathered on your first targets. You'll also find we've given you each a small book of artifact paper, you'll have to give a sheet to any team who accepts the invitation. It's very simple to use, just hold the paper up and say the name of your destination. You may leave after briefing."

Stein handed a folder to a blond girl with pigtails and a red-eyed youth with spiky white hair. "Meister Maka Albarn and Death Scythe Soul Eater Evans, your target is a Claymore-Meister team hunting pre-Kishins in London that we've been keeping tabs on for some time now. According to intel from the UK office, their names are Colin Sinclair and Fenix Zhao. I trust you won't let us down."

"We'll do our best, Professor." The girl nodded and walked off. "Coming, Soul?"

"London huh? Yeah sure, sounds cool" The boy answered with a smirk; showing off a mouthful of shark-like teeth. "Let's just hope they don't hunt _me _down too."

Soul referred to the Black Blood he had been infected with and lately, was concerned by the possibility of the Madness overpowering him

"MAKA~! YOU'LL WRITE TO PAPA, RIGHT?" Spirit, better known by his title, Death Scythe, is Maka's father. Or... was, since his wife divorced him and took custody of their daughter, who is doing everything she can to make him suffer for cheating.

"Maybe, papa..."

Death Scythe could practically feel the cold edge in Maka's voice. In fact, his brain developed frostbite and he fell into a state similar to a coma. Stein could've sworn that he saw Spirit turn white... Something he was unaware the Weapon could do. Definitely worth looking into...

Still, unfazed by the melodrama, Stein continued and handed a folder to a short boy with blue hair which vaguely resembled a star. "Anyway, Meister Black*Star and Demon Multi-Weapon Tsubaki Nakatsukasa, you two will be going to Hong Kong. Apparently, local Triads have been driven out of a certain neighborhood by a young man wielding two swords. I hope your training's-"

"SO? WHY DOES SOMEONE AS GREAT AS ME HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT A GUY LIKE THAT?" Black Star, sadly, has a hard time with understanding two concepts: volume control and waiting for his turn.

"Because Black*Star, according to the report; witnesses have seen the swords transform into girls." The girl standing beside him sighed, rubbing her temples; she was taller than he was and had black hair tied into a ponytail. This was Black*Star's long suffering but very understanding weapon partner, Tsubaki Nakatsukasa. It should also be noted that Black*Star also has a hard time paying attention to anything for long periods of time.

"HYAHOO! LET'S GO TSUBAKI!" That was all Black Star needed to hear. And with that, Black*Star ran off, leaving a strangely visible dust trail behind him.

"Hai!" Tsubaki politely bowed to her teachers and followed her Meister, calling out to him. "Black Star, please wait."

The remaining people in the room, accustomed to the loud ninja; ignored his exit and allowed Stein to continue the briefing. "Meister Death the Kidd and Demon Guns Liz and Patti Thompson. Your assignment will take you to a village in Sicily. A Rifle-Meister team have been defending against pre-Kishins. Now Kidd, this is the first real mission you've received since the Book of Eibon incident. You don't have to take this if mission if you feel that either your sanity or wavelength may waiver."

"No, Dr. Stein. I believe I can handle it. Please just give me some names." Kidd replied. Death the Kidd, the son of Lord Death was recently recovered from the confines of the Book of Eibon. The experience may have caused his sanity to start deteriorating. But, his obsession with symmetry remained. If you were smart, you wouldn't mention the 3 white stripes that went around only one side of his head. You'd either have to give a motivational speech (if you were a friend) or be reduced to a smoldering pile of agony (if you were an enemy).

Stein gave the screw in his head one more turn before handing him the folder. "Very well, the Meister's name is Nero Millefiori and the Weapon, Mattie Valjean. They may have the advantage over you, range wise. So, be careful."

Kidd nodded and walked away with his hands behind his back. "Understood Professor. Liz, Patti, let's go."

"Well, at least a trip to Italy would be nice." Liz drawled as she walked off. As Kidd's weapon, the duty fell onto her and her sister to keep him from having an OCD attack and keep him focused. Unfortunately, these sisters were at odds with his views of symmetry. Their personalities, their hair, their height, even their -ahem- assets were different; regardless, Kidd's has persevered and is working past this.

"YAY! Think there's gonna be pasta? Oh! Oh! Wait, let's try and get some pizza there too!" Patti skipped off, giggling maniacally while her sister and Kidd walked behind her, slightly amused by her antics.

As soon, as he was sure his son was out of earshot, Lord Death turned to one of Shibusen's strongest Meisters, concern lacing his voice. "Stein-kun, Is it really a good idea to send Kidd into the field so soon? I mean, Nygus did say she wasn't sure if he's fully recovered from his time in the book."

Dr. Stein sighed and pushed his glasses up. "Honestly? I'm not quite sure myself. But, you've seen his soul, right? His wavelength's stabilized considerably since his retrieval. But, every once in a while, fluctuates wildly, particularly when he's stressed. So, as much as I don't like it, I guess it'll all be up to him then. He is your son after all."

"MAKA~! I LOVE YOU~!" Spirit's whining broke the silence in the room. Much to Lord Death's well-concealed amusement.

"Wow Senpai, that has to be a new record. Huh? Senpai? Senpai?"

**AN: Ladies, gentlemen and anyone who's still interested. I am back! Reloaded, refreshed and reincarnated (wait, what?) Anyway, since I've been over this with three different Beta Readers, there's not much to say. Just changed bits and pieces of the format that bugged me. Anyway, same as always, feel free to review.**


	2. Chapter 1: The Star vs Hong Kong's No 1

**AN: I don't own Soul Eater. And personally, I think that's for the best. All credit goes to Atsushi Okubo, Studio Bones and Shonen GanGan. But, any OC's mentioned are mine.**

Key

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

"_Hello!_"= Thinking

_Hello= _Tech. Names or words in foreign languages

-Hong Kong: Golden Lantern Casino and Resort, Back Entrance-

The Golden Lantern Casino and Resort, the latest casino built in Victoria Harbor was truly a sight to behold, a thing of beauty, fashioned after the Forbidden City in Beijing. The hotel portion was at least 30 floors high stocked with all the luxuries; pools, spas and restaurants... there was even an indoor park on the ground floor. What about the casino itself? Well, does 13,000 square feet loaded with every form of gambling conceived sound impressive?

But sadly, this gambler's paradise/tourist trap was just the front for the latest gang to set up in the Harbour, the Black Tigers. On the surface, the casino was just like any other. It was another place where people went in hopes of getting lucky. But, if someone couldn't pay their fees or was causing too much trouble, they were cordially invited to stay at the Golden Lantern. The only problem was, no one ever seemed to check out. And that's what concerned the trio entering the resort through an employee entrance. They wanted to find out who was responsible and what they did with the victims. After wandering through the back rooms for some time, these three came across a door made of red wood, with tiger heads for the door knockers.

"Huh, fancy door. Hey Nacchan, you guys think _they're_ behind it?" One of the trio asked, grinning carelessly.

"It's should be sort of obvious Tai, casinos are obvious bases for Triads." the one called Nacchan responded. "Besides, we've checked every other room, so they should be here."

"Oh yeah, that makes sense!" The one called Tai murmured, nodding his head.

The final member of the trio glared at her partners. "Where do the two of you get these ideas? Have you two been watching _Kung-Fu Hustle_ again?"

Tai pointed at her dramatically and grinned. "Yes, yes we have, Shuu, but that's besides the point. Now, on the count of three!" Taiyun took a few steps back and crouched down. "One, Two, Three!" Then, he ran up and kicked the door open.

Now, before we go any further with this, it's time for the descriptions. Zhao Taiyun a.k.a. 'Tai', an 18 year old Hong Kong native, had messy black hair and almost always wore a goofy smile on his face. The guy dressed like he just walked out of a kung-fu movie from the 70's, wearing a red kung-fu shirt and black pants.

Nacchan, full name Natsumi Reyes-Honda, was a 16 years old, of Japanese and Filipino descent with had long browning-black hair with red and blue highlights, one on each side of her head. Her clothes looked like they belonged in a shonen anime; a blue and white _gi_ with detached sleeves and a black belt tied around her waist. She either went along with Tai's crazy plans or tried to talk him out of them.

Shuu was the reluctantly accepted nickname of Natsumi's twin sister, Akiko. Compared to Taiyun and her sister, she was more mature and serious, but not by much. She had shorter hair and wore _gi_ like her sister, only her's had the sleeves were cut off and she also wore a pair of dark green _hakama_.

Meanwhile on the other side of the door, men in black suits were passing through a large lobby and up the stairs, going about their daily routines. When suddenly, the door flew open, reavealing the trio of teenagers that were standing on the other side.

"Well what do you know, they were behind the door." Taiyun smiled.

Natsumi causally placed her arms behind her head and laughed. "Told you~."

"Um, I think we have more pressing matters." Akiko pointed behind them. Crowding the staircases was a large group of triad grunts, all of them pointing guns threateningly at the investigating trio.

Taiyun took a few slow, lazy steps towards the stairs, almost daring someone to pull the trigger. "Right~."

"SOMEBODY SHOOT THOSE BRATS!"

"All right then, transform!" Taiyun jumped back to dodge a few poorly-aimed shots and the sisters nodded, transforming into blue fireballs. Flying into his hands, the flames dispersed, leaving behind a pair of Katana. The two swords were almost identical, save for the _tsuba_. Natsumi's weapon form had a six-petaled flower enclosed in a ring; Akiko's, a elegantly simple four pointed star.

"Those swords... Hey, is he... y'know, the Harbor's No.1?" a gangster whispered to the guy next to him.

"I think so. Well, now what?"

"FIRE!"

Meister and Weapons were once again faced with gunfire. Taiyun cursed under his breath before he scrambled into the hall and behind the door frame, barely dodging the oncoming hail of bullets. After a few moments, the gunfire stopped and a clicking noise echoed through the tense atmosphere.

Tai calmly strolled out from behind his hiding place. The smirk on his face let everyone in the lobby know that the tables had turned and he was loving every second of it. "What do you now? No more bullets."

"GET HIM!" Suddenly, the gang members produced hatchets, swords and knives and rushed forward.

Taiyun smiled to himself. An all-out attack? Things just got interesting. He fought his way through the crowd. Blocking and dodging his way through clumsy swings, he managed to land a slash or a thrust when he could. Fighting his way to the stairs, he noticed the grunts he killed kept turning into red balloons. Weird. Weird, but unimportant. Eventually, they surrounded him; forcing Taiyun on the defensive. He jumped out of the circle, breathing heavily and a gleam in his eyes. "Ready ladies?"

"Woo! Finally!"

"If it can't be helped"

"Right then, let's get crazy! _Tamashi no Kyoumei!_" Their Wavelengths began to echo off each other as the twin swords glowed white. Taiyun ran straight through the mob of Black Tigers, leaving a streak of light in his wake. "_Xingqiu Jian: Yinhe_!" Turning to look behind him, he saw the gangsters were replaced with Kishin eggs. Ignoring the red orbs, he walked towards the stairs, his partners resuming their human forms.

Taiyun looked towards the floating red orbs. "Hey, what up with the balloons?"

"Honestly, does it really matter?" Akiko reasoned.

Natsumi smacked her Meister upside the head. "Yeah, we still have to find _him,_ remember?"

"Yes, dear."

"AND STOP CALLING ME THAT!"

-Golden Lantern Casino: Boss' Room-

Just up one of the two flights of stairs and through the circular door, was the Boss' Room. This was the place where you pleaded your case to the boss. Maybe you needed more time to pay off a loan. Maybe you were called to make someone 'disappear'. Or, maybe you were a member of the inner circle called to a meeting. It didn't matter what you were, if you had business with the boss, this is where you went. This was also a place for any respectable gang leader to relax. But, it must be hard to relax if some punk flanked by a pair of girls burst through your doors. Right? Well, that was how Taiyun and the Reyes-Honda twins made their entrance.

Taiyun stared at the man sitting in front of them. He was an older Asian gentleman with short, well-groomed hair that was graying near the temples. He wore a black suit with a gold dragon embroidered on the front. If that didn't say 'gang boss', he didn't know what would. "Lemme guess, you're Boss Mark?"

"And what would you do if I am?" He smirked, taking a long drag from a cigar.

Taiyun said nothing and ran forward, the twins changing into the swords in his hand. Then, in one smooth motion, he spun around and sliced Mark in the throat. The gang boss clutched at his throat as his body swirled into black ribbons and disappeared, giving way to the blood red soul of a pre-Kishin.

"Again with the red balloons?" Tai sighed and his partners transformed back into human form. "What's goin' on?"

Natsumi started poking at the corrupted soul. "Huh, dunno. Dude, you gotta try this! Feels kinda weird, sorta squishy."

"Taiyun, you feel that?" Akiko asked, looking around the room. She was the only person in their team with proper Soul Perception, but it never hurt to have a second opinion.

"Not really, someone else here?" Unfortunately, Taiyun always had poor Soul Perception, so he had to learn how to track others based on the rhythm and flow of natural energies from his grandfather. On one hand, it was a convenient trick; it was easy to learn; if Natsumi could learn it had to be, and he didn't need to stop and waste time focusing to find someone. But, if his target wasn't touching the ground or hiding in a crowd, it was pretty much useless.

"HYAHOO! YOU'RE MINE!"

Suddenly, a giant, black shuriken appeared out of nowhere, flying straight at them. Natsumi screamed, Akiko squealed and both girls ducked, kicking their Meister's legs out from under him, just in time for the throwing star to fly harmlessly over their heads. "WHO THE HELL THREW THAT?"

Natsumi's question was answered as a certain blue-haired ninja stepped out of the shadows, shuriken in hand. "HOW COULD YOU NOT KNOW ME? I AM THE ONLY MAN WHO CAN SURPASS GODS! I! AM! BLACK STAR!"

Taiyun dusted himself off and grinned, crossing his arms in front of his body. The twins almost instantly transformed into blue fireballs and flew into his hands. "Yeah, well. I'm Zhao Taiyun, cook at the Eight Treasures restaurant and a twin sword Meister!"

"Be careful Black Star, he's got a strong soul. I can feel it." A female voice rang from the shuriken.

"Don't worry, Tsubaki. There's no way we'll lose to these amateurs! Zeroth Kata: _Masamune_!" Black Star ignored his partner's advice and the large shuriken blurred to form a katana as shadows gathered around the ninja boy's neck, forming an inky black scarf.

"You probably should listen to her. We're really strong today!" Taiyun smiled as the fireballs began to resemble a pair of swords. "Well? You ready?"

"ALWAYS!" Black Star ran forward, blade held behind him.

Taiyun laughed and responded in kind. Finally, a decent sparring partner. "Good... Let's rock!"

The two combatants locked blades, each trying to force the other back. After what seemed like an eternity in deadlock, they disengaged and jumped away from each other.

"That guy's got a star tattoo on his shoulder. Natusmi, Akiko, that mean anything to you guys?"

"It means he's a member of the _Hoshizoku_." Akiko responded.

"Star Clan, eh? Well, I guess that changes things." Taiyun's smile vanished and the room's temperature seemed to drop.

"Tsubaki? What's goin' on?".

"I don't know. But, the Meister's wavelength... it's become saturated with killer intent!" she replied; now very worried about her Meister.

"Wha-?" But before, Black Star could finish, Taiyun dashed forward and tried to cut him across the chest. Black Star cursed to himself, quickly dodging the oncoming blade. This guy was good, he moved fast enough to leave him barely any time to react.

"Oh, don't worry _Hak Seng_. It'll all be over soon..." Taiyun ground his teeth and sank lower to the ground, ready to charge again.

"Tsubaki! Third Kata: _Zetsuei_!" Almost instantly, the katana in Black Star's hand shifted into a large _kunai_ with a ring where the blade met the handle. Taiyun rushed forward and the blue-haired assassin disappeared into a black blur as his blades cut him down.

Natsumi warned her Meister. "Tai! I barely felt any mass, this one's just a dummy!"

"What?"

"He's moving at high speeds... Fast enough to leave after-images with some mass to them." Akiko explained.

"Huh? That doesn't ma-" As Taiyun took a moment to try and process that, he was suddenly pummeled by punches and kicks from all directions.

"FINALLY, _HISSATSU: BLACK_ _STAR BIG WAVE!_" Somehow, the last of the Star Clan had managed to get behind Taiyun and perform his signature move, forcing a large amount of wavelength into his opponent.

"How? Those were afterimages..." Taiyun hunched over, trying to catch his breath. Whatever that attack was, it forced a lot of wavelength into his body. Even with his grandfather's training, that was probably something he didn't want to get hit by again.

Two Black Stars appeared in front of Taiyun and the closest one disappeared into a swirl of ink-black, leaving only Tsubaki. "_Fourth Kata: Edayami_. Now, Black Star!" She transformed back into a black katana and flew into her Meister's hand.

"Thanks Tsubaki! And, _Kage__ Boshi!_" The shadows under Black Star rose up and started lashing at Taiyun.

Taiyun knew he wasn't fast enough or skilled enough to block everything. And he wasn't sure if an attack like that would hurt his partners in Weapon form. A chance he really didn't want to take either way. Realizing he didn't have much of a choice,he threw the twins off to the sides and assumed a ready stance. "_Tie Shan_!" The shadow whips rained blow after blow upon him and he just stood there, waiting for it to stop.

Black Star stopped the attack; looking very, very confused. "Okay, what did you do?" The _Kage_ _Boshi _was capable of inflicting large amounts of damage, but this guy just stood there and took it? More importantly, he was still standing afterward. Something just didn't add up.

Taiyun tilted his head, he wasn't really sure what Black Star was talking about. But, from the look on the young assassin's face, it probably had to do with how he wasn't dead yet. Nodding to himself, Taiyun snapped his fingers and pointed at Black Star. "Oh, that? Well, there was no way in hell I could block those attacks, so I just used _Qigong_!"

"Qi-whanow?"

Taiyun sighed and shook his head. Didn't anyone watch kungfu movies anymore? "_Qi _is just another word for Soul Wavelength. And when I use _Tie Shan,_ I just focus it throughout my body and cause the muscles to contract. The only downside's that I can't move when I use it."

"So why throw your Weapon partners away?" Despite the explanation, there was something that still confused Black Star.

The Hong Kong native chuckled to himself. "Because like I said, there was no way in hell I could block all those attacks. Anyway, why are you here _Hak Seng_? There's no money to be made in this place. So, maybe you're just here for the sport. Right?"

"All right, that's enough!" Tsubaki scolded, catching Taiyun and Black Star off guard as she reappeared in human form beside her Meister.

"Have you ever heard of the school, Shibusen?" Tsubaki asked, now much calmer.

"_Shibusen_: The Shinigami's Meister and Weapon Vocational School, charged with protect the world from Insanity." Akiko answered, as the twins walked over to join the conversation. "Our parents and Taiyun's were classmates."

Tsubaki smiled, maybe recruiting these tree would be easier than she thought. "Well, Black Star and I are a part of the elite student unit; _Spartoi_ and we have been sent to recruit independently operating Weapons and Meisters. You were our first assignment and we think you have potential. So, will you help us?"

Tai and his partners huddled up and began whispering amongst each other. After a few moments, they turned and faced the Spartoi members.

"We're in." The twins and Taiyun said at the same time.

"What do we have to do?" Tai asked.

"Don't worry about that." Black Star reassured in a no-nonsense tone. "Lord Death will give you the details. Anyway, you'll help?"

"We said_ yes_, didn't we?" Taiyun replied, emphasizing the yes.

Black Star handed him a piece of paper. It was black with a seal drawn on it with white ink. The seal itself was a winking Shinigami's mask flashing the 'peace sign'. "When you're ready, just yell out 'Death Room' and it'll take you there"

Taiyun smiled, and gave the young assassin a mocking salute. "Got it covered, _Hak Seng_. We'll treasure this forever..."

"STOP CALLING ME THAT!" Black Star demanded childishly.

The Hong Kong teen leaned towards the blue-haired assassin, the wide grin on his face just begging to be punched out. "Well, why don't you make me~."

"YOU WANNA GO?" Black Star growled and held up a fist.

"BRING IT!" The twin sword Meister smirked and cracked his knuckles, ready for round tow.

Realizing things were quickly getting out of hand, Tsubaki grabbed Black Star by the collar and began dragging him off with an apologetic smile. "We have to report back to Lord Death. But, it was nice meeting the three of you and we hope to see you at Shibusen soon!"

The Hong Kong trio waved politely as the Shibusen students made their exit. And, after Black Star's shouting stopped echoing though the room, were left alone in silence.

Until Natsumi and Akiko both turned to face their Meister, drew their fists back and punched Taiyun in one fluid motion, knocking him to the ground.

"YOU IDIOT!" Natsumi leaned down at her Meister, getting right in his face. "WHY THE HELL DID YOU THROW US TO THE SIDE LIKE THAT! WE'RE YOUR _WEAPONS _REMEMBER? SO, LET _US_ PROTECT YOU FROM STUFF LIKE THOSE CREEPY TENTACLES!"

Taiyun smiled apologetically from his seat, looking up at his enraged partner. "You're right, sorry. But, I did promise to keep you two safe right? I _am_ still your knight, right?"

"I-I can't believe you still remember that stupid game." Natsumi blushed.

Akiko cleared her throat, interrupting her arguing sister and Meister. "Anyway. You looked like you wanted to kill Black Star when I told you he was a _Hoshizoku_. Then, when the fight ended; you relaxed. What happened?"

Taiyun shrugged, he didn't really have a good reason either. "Dunno, guess if he's working for Shibusen he can't be that bad..."

"How do you know?"

"That last attack, it felt like he was restraining himself. From what Gramps told me, members of the Star Clan keep fighting until their target's dead. Still don't really trust him though..." Taiyun looked over the paper, focusing mostly on the cartoonish seal. "Whaddya say guys? Ready to go?"

"We're good. We'll just get them to mail our stuff. Question is, what're _you_ waiting for? " Natsumi demanded.

"Right then, to the Death Room!" Taiyun held the paper up and said the name of his destination. The paper created an inescapable pull, sucking them into it. As it fell, a tiny ember spread from one corner, reducing it to ash before it hit the ground.

-Somewhere Else-

Meanwhile, Black Star and Tsubaki were standing in front of a mirror, reporting their findings to Lord Death, a near-catatonic Spirit and Dr. Stein.

"Lord Death! Me and Tsubaki recruited our target. Who's next?"

"Ok~ Here's your next mission. We've heard rumors that there's a mysterious duo who've been hunting Kishin in somewhere in Japan. We believe they are a Weapon and Meister team. Other than that, not much is known. Well~, Do your best! Bye~." Lord Death made a peace sign as he said good bye.

"TSUBAKI, YOU READY!" Black Star asked in his usual loud voice.

"Yes." She replied. "It will be nice to see my family again."

"LET'S GO!" And with that, Black Star ran off.

Tech. Names

Xingqiu Jian: Yinhe= Celestial Body Sword: Silver River

Zetsuei: Severing Darkness

Edayami: Branching Darkness

Kage Boshi: Shadow Star

Tie (Ti-eh) Shan: Iron Shirt

**AN: I will be using a bit of Chinese throughout this fic and if you're really curious about what it all means or simply want to make sure it isn't gibberish, just use an online dictionary like this one: www. mdbg. net /chindict/ chindict. Php (remove the spaces first)**


	3. Chapter 2: The New Order vs The Law

**AN: I don't own Soul Eater. That right goes to Atsushi Okubo, Square Enix and Shonen GanGan. Also, if I'm writing the canon cast out of character, feel free to say so. I appreciate the feedback**

Key

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

_Hello= _Tech. Names or words in foreign languages or just emphasis

* * *

-Italy: Undisclosed City-

Death the Kidd was many things; son of Lord Death, student at Shibusen and most recently, a rescuee from the Book of Eibon. He was a also symmetry addict, something he had recently began therapy for. Now, he could proudly add frustrated to that list as well. He and the Thompson sisters were sitting around in a plaza. Waiting and marinating in their own frustration. They had officially exhausted every lead, traveled to every major city in Italy and many of the smaller towns. Now, upon Patti's request, they had doubled back to stop for Gelato. Kidd abstained from buying the Italian treat, trying to use Soul Perception to scan for any wavelengths that stuck out against the crowd. Liz decided on strawberry. And Patti, through methods unknown to both her Meister and sister had managed to stack 8 scoops, each one a different flavors onto a waffle cone.

"Gelato! Gelato!" Patti sang to herself. Laughing manically, the blonde whooped and danced on top of a fountain rim, balancing the cone in her hand. Surprisingly, she didn't spill a single drop. "Hey Sis, Kidd? Why's gelato _really~ _good?"

"Well, the sugar content of Gelato is lower than regular ice cream. This may keep the sweetness from overpowering the flavor of the ingredients. Also, the ingredients they use are often fresh, which may have something to do with the overall taste. At least, that's what I've heard. But, I suppose the best way to learn is to try it myself." Kidd answered.

"Well, if you wanted some; why didn't you buy any in the first place?" Liz asked dryly. Her hand resting on her hip and eyebrow raised. Sometimes, she worried about that boy.

Kidd turned to his partner with a look of shock on his face. The sort of look you reserved for someone asking you if chocolate was edible or was confused by the concept of two plus two equalling four. "Simple, I'm not hungry. But more importantly..." Kidd paused, and gestured towards the plaza. "The city planners must have been geniuses when they built this plaza! The bricks, the roads, the buildings that surround it! It's all perfectly symmetrical! I simply can't sully their hard work with the drippings of a melting dessert!"

"Just when I thought we were making progress..." Liz sighed, throwing her paper cup away. Like she always said, there was something wrong with that boy. But frankly, she wouldn't want it any other way.

"Gelato~ Gelato~ Gelato~ Gela-" Patti's song was cut short with a loud crack. Her eyes widened as a bullet of compressed wavelength shooting through the cone, sending her glorious dessert tower falling to the ground with an almost audible splat. "to..."

-A Church Tower-

Near the center of the city, there was a church with long, archaic towers reaching up to the heavens. Hidden within the tallest, a bell tower, was a young man holding a sniper rifle. This young man had short reddish-brown hair, half of it pushed out of his face. He wore a blue shirt, the words "Death Army" printed on it in blocky yellow letters, a pair of camo pants and an old, green army helmet on his head with a pair of yellow goggles over his eyes.

"What's wrong Nero? You missed." A voice from the rifle asked.

"I hit what I aim at _Matteo1.._." The young man hushed. After all, there was no reason to admit that he made a mistake just yet. "You saw their souls too, right?"

The voice from the rifle didn't sound too convinced. "Yeah. The girls both seem normal enough. They've both got human souls, Weapon-types I'm guessing. And the guy's a Shinigami. But, I'm also picking up some weird wavelength from him as well. It's getting kinda faint but it's there."

"Do you think it might be the Madness?"

"I'm not really sure... I mean, he's a Shinigami, can they even go insane?"

Nero said nothing, pulling the rifle bolt back and lined up another shot. He asked himself the same thing the minute he saw the boy's soul. But, he was a soldier, and soldiers couldn't allow themselves luxuries like second-guessing. "I don't know and at this point, I really don't care. If there's even a possibility that he'll become a pre-Kishin, it's our duty to stop him. So, let's return his soul to God."

-City Plaza-

"Liz! Patti! You know what to do!" Kidd began barking out orders and summoned his skateboard, the Beelzebub. He winced slightly as he felt his Shinigami powers flow from the palm of his hand. Something felt... off, like something was as being slowly pushed and then twisted into his temples. Strange, that had never happened before; so, why start now? No matter, there were more pressing issues to deal with.

Liz nodded silently, Patti made obscene gestures, swearing to avenge her fallen Gelato and, in a flash of pink light, the two sisters appeared as pistols in the young Shinigami's hands. Death the Kidd closed his eyes and exhaled slowly. He had to block everything out and focus on any prominent wavelengths. Just a moment, and... perfect, he found a pair of strong souls hiding in the bell tower near the center of town. Mentally locking on to the location; he flew off, weaving in and out to dodge the incoming hail of wavelength bullets. The young Shinigami calmly held his twin guns and lined up a shot with ease. He knew that if he was dealing with a sniper, there was a good chance that they couldn't move from their position. A fact that made returning fire much easier for Kidd, all he needed to know was where the shots were coming from.

"Alright, let's see how you-" Kidd stopped mid-sentence and screamed, his hands flying to the sides of his hadn't told anyone; but he'd been having insanity attacks. Ever since the Book of Eibon incident, he'd occasionally feel this crawling sensation inside his head and it was progressively getting worse. He thought the suppressants Stein had given him were working. So what cause this attack? Why here? At the worst possible moment?

"Oi Kidd. What's goin' on?" Liz asked, worried about her Meister. This was Kidd's first real mission since his rescue and already something was going wrong.

"Nothing Liz. It's fine"

"Well then, look out!"

"Huh?" Realizing that he was still being shot at, Kidd lifted the Beelzebub and just barely managed to block several shots.

-Church Tower-

"Nero, he's getting closer! What now?"

"You know what we have to do,"

If Matteo was in human form right now, he would have nodded. "Of course!"

"Ready? _Soul Resonance_!"

Their wavelengths echoed off each other and a green aura formed around the tip of the barrel, shaping into a snake head. "Target wavelength, locked. Calculating target's velocity. Redirecting resonance. Nero, we're ready to go!"

"Good, try and dodge this! _Morso di Serpe!_" Nero pulled the trigger. The snake head exploded from barrel, a green trail streaked behind the serpentine bullet as it flew towards Kidd.

"Oh, was that all?" Kidd sighed. Dodging the attack, he continued towards the church tower.

"Um... Kidd... We have a problem." Liz said, slowly.

"What?" Kidd asked,

"Remember that weird shot? The one that looked kinda like a snake?"

"Yes..." Kidd did not like where this was going. The thought had occurred to him that there may have been a reason their target had stopped shooting. And the pieces were quickly falling into place

Liz paused, sucking air in through her teeth. "Well, it's coming back around!"

Kidd looked behind him in shock. Liz was right, the green serpent was now following them. Swearing under his breath, he pointed the Beelzebub up; trying to put as much distance between them and that snake. He banked left and right, trying to shake it, but it kept up in hot pursuit. Finally, Kidd gave up and turned around. This madness had gone on long enough. "All right, let's try this! Liz! Patti!"

"Right!" Liz agreed.

"FOR MY GELATO!" Patti screamed, still willing to avenge her lost dessert.

"_Tamashi no Kyoumei!_" The twin pistols transformed into a pair of large cannons as three black spikes appeared on both of Kidd's arms.

"3" The wavelength construct was flying closer and closer towards them, now roughly 50 feet and closing in.

"2~" Now, 20 feet away; its mouth opened wide, showing a wicked looking set of fangs

"1. It's getting way too close!" Kidd nodded and closed his eyes. Too far away and this wouldn't work, too close and it would be too late. He needed to clear his mind. He needed to focus. Imagine that, for once in his life, he actually _needed_ everything to be, precise and perfect.

"Kaboom!" Patti giggled manically.

"_Death. Cannon._" Kidd glared at the oncoming bullet and fired two massive beams directly at the snake-like wavelength. The Death Cannon's sheer destructive power easily stopped and neutralized the attack. The young Shinigami allowed himself a slight smirk. After all, it wasn't everyday something that risky paid off. Now all that was left to do was find this Millefiori person and-

Kidd started screaming again. He was having another insanity attack, one even worse than the last. This time, it felt like thousands of fiery spiders were now gleefully tearing away at his brain.

"Kidd! What's going on? Your wavelength's getting erratic! Kidd!"

He couldn't hear Liz screaming or Patti's crying. He didn't notice that he lost control of the Beelzebub and was falling. He couldn't even tell which way was up. He was far too busy trying to find his mind. It was happening again, that's twice in one day now, what was going on?

Suddenly, Kidd heard voices screaming in his ears. With a groan, he managed to force his eyes open and his world slowly came back into focus. "Liz? Patti? Hang on!"

Kidd regained control over the flying skateboard. Forcing it to pull up sharply, Kidd landed hard on the church's roof and skid several feet before coming to a stop. Almost instantly, the Thompsons transformed back into human form, ready to interrogate their Meister.

"Kidd! What the hell happened up there?"

"Yeah, We thought you bwoke~."

"Don't worry you two. Just a slight headache, that's all" Kid reassured his partners, dusting himself off before and retracting the Beelzebub back into his hand.

"Didn't look like one~. Y'know Kidd, you know if there's something wrong, you can tell us right~?" Patti said innocently. Patti was many things, but she wasn't stupid. Crazy? Possibly. Trigger happy? Absolutely. But she definitely was not stupid.

But, Kidd was insistent."I'm fine. Really, it's nothing."

"Fine. Just be sure to-" Liz's suggestion was cut short by a burst of three shots carefully aimed at their feet.

Standing on the roof of the church's bell tower, Nero slid to the edge and jumped. He landed in front of Kidd and the Thompsons and pointed the barrel of his rifle right between Kidd's eyes. After watching his best shot get overpowered, he decided the only way to settle this was at point-blank range. "Get away from them!"

"DON'T YOU DARE!" Liz shrieked, pointing her sister's weapon form at the other boy's temple.

"You hurt Kidd... And now your brains go _splat_~!" The voice of the younger, manic blonde echoed from the barrel, laughing evilly.

"Are you two blind?" Nero lowered his rifle and pointed at Kidd. He was shocked, the boy wasn't human and these two girls didn't seem to notice, or at the very least, not care. What was going on? "Look at his soul! There's something not quite right about it! He's not human!"

To say Kidd was annoyed would be an understatement. "Well, of course I'm not human. I'm a Shinigami!"

"You're still a Shinigami?"

Seeing that Nero was having a hard time understanding his soul wasn't human, Kidd sighed. "Well of course, I'm still a Shinigami. As in, Japanese for Grim Reaper. That sort of Shinigami."

The rifle in Nero's hands glowed green and transformed into a human beside his Meister. He was a lean young man with wavy, chin-length brown hair. He wore a white dress shirt with rolled up sleeves with a black vest and dress pants. Unlike Nero's stiff posture and stern expression. The rifle's relaxed stance and smile presented a more open, more laid back personality than his Meister's.

The rifle stretched a bit, wincing at the sound of joints popping before turning to his partner. "Well, I did tell you that his soul was still a Shinigami's. But, you were just so preoccupied with the odds of him turning pre-Kishin... So, it's possible you didn't hear me."

"Anyway" Nero said, brushing his partner aside. "I am Nero Millefiori and this is my Weapon, Matthieu Dantes."

"Mattie's just fine and may I say, it is a pleasure to meet you." The rifle smiled, taking Liz's hand and kissing it.

Sadly, the older Thompson wasn't amused, or wooed for that matter, and stared at him blankly. "You do realize I still have a gun, right?"

Nero turned his gaze back to Kidd, ignoring his weapon's pathetic attempts at flirting. "So, Shinigami, what brings you to this city?"

As if on cue, Kidd politely handed him the sheet of artifact paper. "We're extending to you, an invitation to join Shibusen. Judging by recent events, it is clear you have some knowledge of souls and wavelength manipulation. So allow me to ask; are you familiar with the Kishin and what Shibusen's duties are?"

Nero's face remained expressionless as he took the paper from Kidd and looked it over. It seemed harmless enough, but it never hurt to double check. "I've heard of both. What's your point?"

Kidd cleared his throat and straightened his skull tie, it was a few millimeters to the left and was starting to bug him. "The first Kishin, Asura and the witch, Medusa have both gone into hiding. We have reason to believe they are preparing for a war. Furthermore, a man by the name of Noah is amassing followers. Our forces are spread thinly across the world and the Madness spreading is becoming stronger. My father has sent the members of the elite student unit Spartoi, as well as my weapons and I to seek out any independent Weapons and Meisters. So, will you help us maintain the balance of the world?"

Matthieu eagerly grabbed Kid's hand and shook it. "Well, I'm in! Sound's like fun!"

Nero folding his arms, unconvinced by the reaper's words. His mother and father had told him many things about Shibusen, most of them less than flattering. "Very informative Shinigami. But, I'm not quite convinced, after all I've heard that Shibusen has a fairly dodgy record, particularly with information. Given that knowledge, why exactly should I join you?"

"Well for one thing, you thought that my soul was a pre-Kishin's. If you continue hunting like that, there's a chance that innocent lives will be caught in the crossfire." Kidd explained.

"Fine. I suppose learning about my enemy _will_ make things easier. I'll attend your school if only to learn how to better hunt Pre-Kishin." Nero sighed and extended his hand toward the young Shinigami. His argument made sense. Besides, he wasn't so arrogant to think that he could easily kill any pre-Kishin he found. That would be foolish and any opportunity to get stronger was a godsend.

"Thank you." Kidd shook hands with the Italian Meister. "Now, that paper I gave you is an artifact. Just say the name of your destination, in this case, 'Death Room' and it'll take you there."

"I'll keep that in mind. Thank you."

Kidd walked off, the sisters following after him. "Liz, Patti. Let's go, I'm sure Father wants us to check in."

"Well, they seemed nice." Matthieu smiled and looked over his partner's shoulder at the artifact paper. "Saving the world from Madness, eh? Well, we're in for an adventure!"

"Indeed. Oh, and_ Matteo?_"

"What?"

"It would be best if we left now."

"Well, it's not like we need to pack or anything. You gonna do the honors? Or, shall I?"

Nero didn't respond, most likely out of apathy and threw the paper up, calling out 'Death Room'. The paper sucked them into the seal, bursting into flames as it fell.

Meanwhile, a boy with shaggy brown hair, peered over the frames of his glasses, watching the scene from his table at a nearby cafe. Sighing to himself, he took of his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose. Putting his glasses on again, he paid for his coffee and left to search for his partner, Hannah. This was the second team that they lost to Shibusen and Master Noah would not be happy about this.

Marty snorted and walked towards the city plaza.

_ Then again, was he ever happy to begin with?_

-Italian City: Back Alley-

Death the Kidd and the Thompson Twins left the plaza, avoiding crowds and only stopping once to window shop, at Liz's insistence. Ducking into a secluded alley, the sisters looked around, making sure no one could possibly see them.

"Can't see anyone, Kidd. I think you're clear." Liz said. Exhaling slowly, Kid went through his usual hand signs, summoning a portal to the Death Room. Instantly, Lord Death appeared in front of them.

"Yeah~ Yeah~! What up Kiddo-kun~? You've still got those cute stripes, I see. So, how'd the mission go?" He said in his usual goofy voice.

"It went well, Father. The targets, Nero Millefiori and his partner should be heading your way, if they're not there already. Who's next?"

"All business, eh? Well~, you're going to Germany. There have been strange reports of an independent Weapon and Meister pair harvesting pre-Kishin souls during the nights."

"It doesn't sound that odd." Kidd said skeptically

"Well, this should make things interesting. These reports also say that the they're both..." Lord Death paused for dramatic effect and made a wide, sweeping gesture with his hands. "_Vampires_!"

Needless to say, Kidd wasn't amused by his father's antics and secretly hoped he was joking. "Vampires?"

"Yup~."

"Didn't Shibusen try to exterminate the Vampires in the past?"

The older Death looked away sheepishly and scratched the side of his head with one of his oversized hands. "Yeah~, not my best moment. Anyway, good luck~! Oh! Before I go, how are you feeling?"

"Give me a moment, Father." Kidd turned away to face Liz and Patti, searching his pockets for something. "Patti, do you still want more Gelato?"

"Yeah~!" She grinned, nodding her head rapidly.

"Well, here's some money to buy more." Kidd held a few folded-up bills in front of her.

Grabbing the money from Kidd's hand, Patti found that he'd given her at least 50 euros. The manic blonde's grin widened and she grabbed her sister by the arm, dragging her off. "Cool~! C`mon sis! Let's go~! Yee-haw! GELATO!"

"Kidd, what's going on?" But, before Liz could get an answer out of Kidd, she was dragged off by her sister. As soon as they were out of sight, Kidd turned back to his father. Something that made the older Death tilt his head in confusion.

"Kidd, is something wrong? You never send the girls away when we talk..."

"Father, the attacks have been getting worse."

"Oh. Well, if you think it'll be a problem, we can just send another team to Germany." Lord Death put his hands together.

"I'll be fine Father. After all, the negotiations may go better if a Shinigami was present. Wouldn't you agree?"

"Well, if you say so. Now, there are some things you need to know about Vampires..." The older Death wasn't entirely convinced, but if Kidd said he could handle it. He had no choice but to believe him.

* * *

Tech Names

Morso di Serpe: Snakebite

**AN: I realize I accidentally uploaded this chapter because I thought it was done. But, it wasn't so. I sorry about that. Also, thank you Wolfsbane706 for letting me continue to use your OC's.**

1Matteo: Italian for Matthew


	4. Chapter 3: Spartoi's Angel vs the Hopper

**AN: You know the drill, I don't own Soul Eater. That right goes to Atsushi Okubo, Studio Bones, Square Enix and Shonen GanGan. Also, if I don't portray the characters properly, feel free to say so in a review! **

**P.S. Sorry in advance if I don't get Maka's personality right.**

Key

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

_Hello= _Tech. Names or words in foreign languages or just emphasis

* * *

-London: The Millennium Wheel-

Maka Albarn was the daughter of one of the strongest Death Scythes alive, a Meister born with the Grigori-type soul and one of the brightest students attending Shibusen. But, she could also be very impatient and very stubborn. She and her partner Soul Eater Evans were inside a compartment of the Millennium Wheel, something that she wasn't too happy about.

"I'm serious, Soul. We were sent here on a mission to find that team, not waste time staring at the city!" Maka was a very mature and bookish girl. As a result, she didn't like it when things didn't make sense. Unfortunately for Soul, enjoying the scenery while 'on duty' was one of them.

The white-haired Death Scythe leaned back on the railing and groaned. Trying to argue his way out of this would result in a book to the head. He would know, he had the head trauma to prove it. So, perhaps he could try reasoning with his Meister.

Just this once...

"Listen Maka, we've looked everywhere for those guys. I say, we take a break, maybe take in the sights while we're at it? I mean, yeah we've been to London already, but we never took the chance to enjoy it. Besides, the city looks pretty cool at night. Right?"

Maka leaned forward with a sigh, looking out at the panoramic view of London at night. "Yeah, I guess so. And London _does _look kinda nice from up here. Maybe we should-" She stopped and started looking around, this is why she never just 'took in the sights'. It never failed, whenever she finally started to relax, something would always come up.

"Maka, you got something?" Soul straightened up and walked over to her.

"Yeah, a pre-Kishin and two others"

"Think it's them?"

"Probably. Soul get the door!"

"Got it." Soul grabbed the emergency handle and popped it, causing the other gondola occupants to panic and shriek at each other. Soul smirked and held out his hand. "Ready Maka?"

The pigtailed Meister nodded and grabbed her partner's hand. Together, they jumped out of the door, and flew off; Maka standing on top of Soul's weapon form with a pair of strong looking wings in place of the scythe's blade.

Meanwhile, back in the gondola, the other occupants looked at each other and made a silent pact that they would never speak of this again.

-London: Building Rooftop's-

Upon the rooftops of London, an epic chase was taking place. A hunched figure was leaping from building to building, intent on losing his two pursuers. He looked over his shoulder, thinking that he lost them, until he was forced to stop. The next rooftop was across a main street, a gap far too wide to leap over. Just when he thought the day couldn't get any worse, his pursuers finally caught up to him. The hunched figure snarled and turned to face them. In the light, it was shown that he was very tall and very thin; his face was pale and lean with a hawkish nose and leering red eyes. He wore a black, horned helmet and cloak. Seeing that he had no choice but to fight, the figure crouched low and ran his long tongue over his sharp teeth. If he was going to die, he wanted to go down fighting.

"Well well well, you finally found something you couldn't jump? Eh, Spring-Heeled Jack!" The first one walked into the light; a fourteen year old boy with messy red-orange hair, which was dyed blue in the bangs and random places. He wore a white button-down shirt with random red bands running across it and cargo pants. The boy smirked and transformed his right arm into a large blade. "Oi Fenix, why do these things always try to fight when they realize they can't run?"

"I don't know. But, it does give us a workout." The other boy stepped into the light behind his Weapon. Fenix was a 14 year old Asian boy with short black hair and a serious look on his face. He wore a yellow sweatshirt and dark green shorts. "Spring-Heeled Jack! You've strayed from the path of humanity by killing the innocent. As punishment, we'll take your soul! Ready, Colin?"

"HELL YEAH!" The rest of Colin's body disappeared in a flash of light that spun towards his Meister. Fenix sighed and shook his head, Colin could be too enthusiastic sometimes. Holding out his hand, Fenix caught his spinning partner. Bringing the blade to rest upon his shoulder, the light dispersed to reveal Colin's Weapon form; a broadsword with chains wrapped around the guard and pommel that rattled in the breeze.

The pre-Kishin cackled madly and sprinted forward, drop kicking Fenix right in the chest, sending him flying with a thud into an antenna.

"Okay, let's try this again!" Fenix picked himself up. The chains rattled even more as he used his sword to get back on his feet. Then, he ran at his target, swinging Colin's Weapon form at it with one hand. Spring-Heeled Jack dodged every attack, much to the young Meister's annoyance. "Are you _kidding_ me? All you're doing's just jumping around? Can't you do anything else?"

The pre-Kishin suddenly leapt into the air and took a deep breath. Puffing out its cheeks, it shot a ball of blue and white flame from his mouth.

"YOU JUST _HAD_ TO ASK! YOU COULDN'T LEAVE WELL ENOUGH ALONE, HUH?"

"SHUT UP, SINCLAIR!" Fenix blocked the fireballs with his partner's weapon form. Unfortunately, the pre-Kishin kept jumping around them, which forced him to defend against attacks from all angles. The hopper began jumping faster and faster, making it hard for Fenix to keep up. And, after a long stalemate, a fireball to the back sent Fenix to the ground, screaming in pain.

-London: Above the City-

Meanwhile, Maka and Soul were flying through the London sky, searching for the pre-Kishin and the Weapon and Meister pair. The London Eye was quite far away and they had been flying for a while now, searching the area around where Maka had sensed them with no success and Soul was becoming skeptical they'd ever find their targets.

"Oi Maka, you sure this we should keep searching? I mean, there's the chance they've killed the pre-Kishin and moved on by now."

Maka shook her head. "No, I can still sense their Wavelengths; they're close. Just keep an eye out for anything out of the ordinary."

"Like what?"

"Like down there!" Maka pointed down at a plume of blue flame erupting from a nearby rooftop. Flying a bit lower, she could see a young boy with a large sword and a cloaked figure breathing fire as it hopped around, most definitely a pre-Kishin. It looked like the boy was having a hard time defending himself and was close to defeat. "There's a pre-Kishin down there! We've got to stop him."

"Think it's them?"

"It doesn't matter. We can't just let that boy die!" A loud scream pierced the night. It sounded like the pre-Kishin had finally got the best of the young fighter, knocking to the ground with a fireball from behind.

That scream was all the Spartoi duo needed to hear. "Ready Maka?"

"Let's go, Soul Eater!" The winged scythe dived towards the rooftop; both Maka and Soul hoping they weren't too late.

-London: Building's Rooftop-

Fenix tried to force himself up. He tried, he really did. But, he couldn't move, and even if he could, his body still felt like lead.

_ T-This can't be how it ends. S-Still have to..._

Grinning evilly, Spring-Heeled Jack finally stopped hopping and landed right in front of the downed Meister. He took a deep breath and launched one last fireball at Fenix. The young Meister sighed and closed his eyes, preparing for the worst.

"NO WAY!" Colin ran in front of his Meister, blocking the fireball. His right arm transformed into a blade. Breathing heavily, he looked over his shoulder at his Meister. "Hey Fenix, you all right?"

"Do I _look_ alright?" Fenix weakly smiled and held out his hand.

Colin grabbed his Meister and helped him up. "Good point. Well, you sure you can do this?"

"I'll be fine. I think..." Fenix tried to take a step forward, but fell to one knee. "Or not."

Just as Spring-Heel Jack ran towards them, a loud cry of '_Witch Hunter_' rang out in the night and a girl wielding a scythe with a crescent moon blade came flying at their opponent. Shocked by the girl's entrance, Spring-Heeled Jack jumped back, barely dodging in time. Both Fenix and Colin couldn't help but gape at the entire scene.

The girl gracefully landing in front of the duo and pointed at her new opponent. "You, pre-Kishin. I won't let you lay another hand on them."

"Who the hell _are _you people?" Colin asked, positioning himself between the girl and Fenix, his blade arm shining in the lights.

"Don't worry, we'll explain later." She looked over her shoulder with a gentle smile, before running towards the pre-Kishin

"Colin, I think I know who they are." Fenix said.

"Seriously? Well, don't leave me in the dark, man! Spill it! Who are they?"

Fenix winced in pain. "That skull on her sleeve... I've seen it somewhere before... Yeah, there's no mistake. They're Shibusen students."

"Ok, so what are they doing here?"

"Don't know. But, we probably shouldn't get in their way." Fenix suggested. Partly due to common sense and partly because since his back still hurt, he could barely stand without Colin supporting him

Colin nodded, and led his Meister away from the fight. Preferably somewhere nearby. That way, they'd have front row seats to the action.

Maka and Soul were still fighting Jack, and becoming more and more frustrated. Mostly because their attacks weren't connecting and all they could do was block his kicks.

"Oi, Maka! Quit messing around!" Soul yelled.

"He's moving way too fast, I can't get a hit in! Wait, he's stopped..."

"What?"

Focusing on their opponent. They saw that Spring-Heel Jack stopped jumping around and was standing in front of them. Slightly crouching, like he was winding up for something.

"Hey Maka, ever heard of _Kamen Rider_?" Soul asked. A red aura collected around Jack's feet.

"I think so... " Maka nodded, lost in thought. Where had she heard that title before? Maybe someone mentioned it to her... She just couldn't remember who though...

"Well, you should probably know what a _Rider Kick_ is right?" Soul asked as the the jumpy killer leaped into the air.

"Yeah." She definitely knew what a _Rider Kick_ was. It was telegraphed, slow and left the user open to counterattacks. Realistically, it was probably one of the worst things to use in a fight. Next to rushing into battle headfirst with no plan whatsoever.

"So...You know what this means..."

"Oh yeah," Maka smiled and ran forward, holding Soul's weapon form in front of her. "You ready Soul?"

For a brief moment, Soul's image appeared in the blade, sporting a shark-like grin. "Yeah..."

"_Tamashi no Kyoumei!_" The scythe's blade transformed into the crescent moon. "_Witch Hunter!_" As Spring-Heeled Jack launched towards them. Maka jumped and spun around. The _Witch Hunter_ cut the pre-Kishin in half. And Maka stylishly landed right in front of the two shocked boys, Soul's Weapon form resting on her shoulders.

"Stop gaping would ya?" Soul shifted back into human form and lazily scratched at the back of his neck. "It's no big deal. Anyway, are you, by any chance Fenix Zhao and Colin Sinclair?"

Fenix snapped his mouth shut and swallowed hard. His brain still couldn't piece together everything that just happened. What was Shibusen doing here? What did they want? Did it have to do with the riot last week? He didn't know. After an awkward silence, he finally found his voice. "Yeah... We are. You guys did say you'd explain everything, right?"

Maka smiled and handed them the sheet of artifact paper. "Yep! My name's Maka Albarn and this is Soul Eater. We're students at Shibusen. The first Kishin, Asura and a powerful witch, Medusa may have gone into hiding. But, we believe they're planning to start a war. Not only that, a dangerous man named Noah has been gathering followers. These three factions pose a great threat to the sanity of the world. So, Lord Death has assigned a unit of elite student's, Spartoi to travel the world and recruit independently operating Weapons and Meisters."

"We can really use the help, you know. So, you in?" Soul asked, shoving his hands into the pockets of his Spartoi jacket.

"After what we saw just now? HELL YEAH!" Colin answered.

"Well, all right. You did save us back there, after all" Fenix said, looking over the paper. "So, how do I use this?"

"Just say the name of your destination. In your case, it's going to be the Death Room." Maka said, walking to the edge of the roof. "Let's go, Soul."

The young Death Scythe nodded in response, walking over to his partner. Looking over their shoulders at the boys one last time, they jumped off the roof with Soul transforming into a flying scythe and they flew off into the night. Leaving Fenix and Colin gaping in awe.

"So, ready?" Colin asked, getting up and stretching

"As I'll ever be." Fenix sighed in resignation and got up slowly, wincing in pain. Looking over the paper one last time, he really hoped that he wouldn't regret this later. Still, he made up his mind and threw the paper up and called out, "Death Room."

The two boys were then drawn into the paper which turned to ashes as it fell.

Maka and Soul had already found a mirror to call the Death Room and delivered their report to Lord Death and received their next assignment. Apparently, there was a team in Nevada that had some potential as Shibusen recruits and they were walking through the London streets, heading towards an airport.

"Hey, Soul."

"Yeah?"

"I finally got it."

"Huh?"

"Kamen Rider... as in Kamen Rider OOO, right?" Maka said, reminding him of their conversation earlier. "I remembered where I heard that title. Black Star wouldn't shut up about it. He kept trying to get me to watch it. Never took you for a fan though..."

Soul snorted. "You're bringing that up now? Well, since Black Star was being so annoying about it, I checked the show out and I kinda liked it. Anyway, who's our next assignment?"

Maka narrowed her eyes in frustration. "I don't know. All Lord Death said was that they were on top of something called the Devil's Tower, remember? No names, no useful data."

Soul groaned and shoved his hands into his pants pockets. "Man~, we're going in blind? Not cool."

"I know, but we're just going to have to do our best and-" Maka paused, as a girl with dull blond hair, tied back into a thick ponytail brushed past them. Nothing out of the ordinary, but the girl was dressed in a ballet leotard, complete with tutu, something that a former friend of Maka's used to do before her performances. Shaking her head, Maka pushed those thought from her mind and hurried after her partner. It couldn't be her, could it?

* * *

**AN: Well, there's a bit to say about this. Once again, like a lot of the first 6 chapters. Most of the editing was the formatting and plot progression. Also, I did add a cameo from one of Wolfsbane706's OC's. If you're reading this Wolfsbane, I'm really sorry about how short the cameo is. I just don't know how to write those with any sense of subtlety. **

**Also I am taking a poll. About this whole Meister Search arc. Think I should compress it into 2 chapters? Please PM me or leave a review with your decision. I would appreciate any and all feedback as always  
**

**A. Yes  
**

**B. No  
**


	5. Chapter 4: Ready? The Sabbath's Coming

**AN: Holy crap, I actually updated! Yay! I now have the free time to finish uploading stuff. Anyway, there's an author's note at the bottom that should explain everything.**

* * *

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

"_Hello"_= Tech. Names or words in foreign languages or just emphasis

-Japan: Somewhere in Aokigahara-

If postcards from airport gift shops are to be trusted, the visage of Mt. Fuji is one of Japan's most iconic images. But, what many people don't know is there is a thick forest which forms a ring around the base of this famous mountain. This forest is Aokigahara, also known as the Jukai, or Sea of Trees. For one reason or another, people are drawn to this place for one purpose, to commit suicide. Because of this and many urban legends, the forest gained a reputation as one of the most haunted places in Japan and many people avoided this forest like the plague. Even the wildlife fled to hide in other, less eerie parts of the surrounding forests. More importantly, Aokigahara was also the last recorded location of a independent Weapon-Meister team that Shibusen had been tracking, and with the many souls of suicides and who knows what else floating about, using Soul Perception to locate them was rather difficult and the silence of the forest was enough to unnerve even the bravest of adventurers. Which is why Lord Death chose a very specific team for this mission. A team with a Meister so incredibly inept at Soul Perception that they had to train their five senses to compensate for it. A team with a Meister who wouldn't be disturbed by the atmosphere because they simply couldn't read it. A team with a Weapon partner level-headed and accommodating enough keep their Meister on task. A team like Black Star and Tsubaki Nakatsukasa.

Black Star looked over his shoulder to his partner as they ran deeper into the forest, jumping over large roots and rocks in their path. He prided himself on following his own path, and silly things like the forest's supernatural reputation and stories of mysterious disappearances didn't matter to him. Why should they? After all, if he was going to surpass God, he couldn't let little things like that stop him. "Tsubaki! Are you sure we'll find them here?"

Tsubaki nodded, trying her best to keep up with her energetic Meister. "Yes, Black Star. According to the report we received from Shibusen. We should be able to find them in a clearing somewhere in this forest." The problem was, they already had checked several clearings and hadn't found anyone. Even as they ran through the forest, they had yet to see anything remotely human, other than skeletons and the bodies of the more recent suicides.

Black Star groaned and picked up his pace. He was also a very straightforward person and anything that required thinking over action, such as: puzzles, mazes and exams tended to get on his nerves. Unfortunately, this forest was beginning to turn into a gigantic maze.

And he tended to break things when they got on his nerves.

"Black Star, please don't run too far ahead. We still don't know if anything dangerous live in the forest."

"Don't worry Tsubaki, even if-" Black Star paused and skidded to a stop. Something broke through the silence of the forest. It sounded like wood hitting metal, maybe a bell, over and over again. He closed his eyes and focused on trying to pinpoint where exactly the noise was coming from.

Tsubaki slowly walked over to her Meister. "Black Star, did you hear something?"

The young assassin opened his eyes and nodded. They definitely weren't alone here and whoever was making that noise, they obviously wanted to be found. "Yeah, it sounded like it was coming from... OVER THERE! HYAHAA!"

Without warning, Black Star ran off to the left, leaving his partner in the dust. Tsubaki smiled nervously before running after the young assassin. Sure, she was happy that they finally found a lead. But, she had to make sure Black Star didn't wreck the forest getting there.

-Aokigahara: Shrine at the Forest's center-

In an expansive forest like Aokigahara, there were bound to be a few clearings, little places where the sun managed to peak through the treetops, little places where people who got lost could relax, try to orient themselves and take in the haunting atmosphere if they wanted to. In some of these little clearings, people built shrines honoring the Kami, or nature spirits that resided in the forest. Once upon a time, these shrines were regularly maintained and travelers who stumbled upon one would leave offerings in exchange for safe passage. But as time passed, and the forest's reputation as a place of suicide grew, these shrines fell into disrepair before the land was reclaimed by the forest itself. And, after getting lost several times following the noise, Black Star found his way to one of these shrines in a larger clearing near the forest's center. Here, they found a boy sitting cross-legged on the forest floor while a little girl hopped over rocks and logs, hitting an large, rusting bell with a stick, laughing as she ran.

The Spartoi team slowly walked over to the boy, his closed eyes and calm breathing both signs of meditation. Something that anyone with any common sense would know better than to disturb.

Sadly, Black Star had very little in the way of common sense and leaned over to prove it. "OI! YOU LOST OR SOMETHING?"

The boy turned to look at Black Star, revealing a pair of clam gray eyes and silently stood up. He looked around fourteen years old with short black hair. and wore a blue hoodie over a white button-down shirt with brown shoes black jeans, held up by a brown leather belt. The boy sighed, and dusted himself off. "Not necessarily, we came here on a ghost hunt. "

"A ghost hunt?" Tsubaki tilted her head in confusion.

"Well, this forest does have a supernatural reputation. And my friend insisted on looking for them." The boy tilted his head towards the girl. She was still skipping around the old bell and laughing to herself.

A loud, female voice called out. "Ji! Ji! Pak Ji Hoon, we gotta get goin'!"

The Spartoi team turned to look in the direction of the newcomer. The girl was much shorter than her friend, only coming up to his chin. She had long, dark, almost black, green hair, that reached down to the small of her back and golden eyes that shone with half-crazed glee. The girl wore a light green dress with a light brown jacket, black leggings and brown boots. "I don't think- Hey, who are you guys?"

The boy nodded, glaring at the Spartoi team. "You know, I been wondering that myself. Who exactly are you people?"

Black Star laughed and gave them a thumbs up. "Don't worry! We're with Shibusen!"

Tsubaki sighed, she figured this would happen. Black Star always had a bad habit of getting the point across without any explanation whatsoever. So, once again, it was up to her to convince the independent team. "My name is Tsubaki Nakatsukasa and this is my Meister, Black Star and we're part of the elite student unit, Spartoi. Our current mission is to travel the world, looking for independent Weapons and Meisters to join Shibusen. So, will you join us?"

Ji Hoon produced a pair of glasses from his pants pocket and cleaned them against his shirt before putting them on. "I suppose it would be rude if we didn't return the introductions. My name is Ji Hoon Pak." He pointed to the green haired girl humming behind him"And the living anime character over there is Misato Ouka"

"Yo!" Misato smiled before pouting and shooting her friend a childish glare. "And who are you calling a living anime character, Ji?"

Ji Hoon sighed and hid his face in the palm of his hand. "Anyway, as I already told you, we were on a ghost hunt. Speaking of which... Misato, I need you to transform. I think something big's coming our way."

Misato nodded, and disappeared in a swirl of cherry blossoms, reappearing in his hand as an old, long-barreled revolver with a bayonet attached.

Black Star tilted his head in confusion. "Alright, so you couldn't figure that out without putting on a par of glasses?"

Ji Hoon laughed to himself, he knew forgot something. "I have very weak Soul Perception and, as you can imagine, that causes problems for me as a Meister. So the glasses allow me to track and observe Wavelengths."

Misato's excited voice echoed from the gun. "Like those Scouters in DBZ!"

Ji Hoon glared at Black Star, pointing his Weapon partner at the young assassin and cocked the hammer back. "Don't...move."

Black Star, the straightforward person that he was; misinterpreted the action as a challenge and smirked, maybe he'd have some fun on this mission after all. "Tsubaki! _Kusarigama_ Mode!"

Without hesitation, Tsubaki nodded and jumped into the air. The ninja girl transformed into a pair of hand-held scythes connected by a long chain before landing in her partner's hands. The blue haired assassin tightened his grip on his weapon and assumed a ready stance, holding one of thesickles in front of him. "So, you wanna fight that badly, huh?"

"Not really, no." Ji Hoon coolly pulled the trigger, and a bullet of compressed soul wavelength skimmed past Black Star's face and hit its real target; a muscular man clad in the torn robes of a Buddhist monk, armed with a large spear. The bullet's impact caused the man to howl in pain and stumble about, swinging madly.

Black Star jumped backwards, dodging the demonic monk's wild swings. "And this is?"

Ji Hoon pushed his glasses up, the sunlight reflecting off its lenses. "Demon monk Benkei, the weapon hunter; he's been living in Aokigahara for some time now. And I think, there may be more like him."

"More like him?" The young assassin managed to dodge Benkei's swings and loop the chain around his neck, before giving it a sharp jerk. Benkei disappeared in a whirl of black ribbons, leaving only the red Kishin Egg.

"According to legends, Aokigahara has a strong association with demons and the supernatural. And, since it's difficult to sense wavelengths inside the forest, it makes sense that many pre-Kishin would use this place to hide" Tsubaki's voice echoed from the kusarigama.

As if on cue, a large group of pre-Kishin appeared through the trees. All of them stumbling towards the clearing, eying the 2 Meisters hungrily.

Black Star looked at the hungry mob of pre-Kishin and smirked, and he thought this would be a boring mission. "Alright! Tsubaki, _Youto _mode!" Almost instantly, Tsubaki's weapon form shifted into a familiar-looking black katana. Black Star held the Katana in front of him in a ready stance. " Let's go, _Kage Boshi_"

As Black Star allowed his soul to resonate with his partner's; shadows began to rise up and whip around him, slicing through his enemies. But, as time dragged on, this became a losing battle for the young assassin. No matter how many pre-Kishin he struck down, more seemed to come to fill in the gaps.

"Black Star, you have to stop! If you keep using the_ Youto_ like this, I might start swallowing your soul." Tsubaki knew that despite her Meister's training, even if the Nakatsukasa's will accepted him, he was still putting his soul at risk if he used that form too long. Shallow breathing, ragged heartbeat, she could practically see the strain that continued resonance was putting on his body.

Black Star fell to one knee, breathing heavily. He stubbornly tried to get up, but he arms and legs felt like lead. He knew he had taken down most of the pre-Kishin, but there were still a few left, and closing in. "Dammit! I'm not done yet... I can still-"

Once again, a wavelength bullet shot past Black Star's face, burying itself in a pre-Kishin's forehead and Ji hoon stepped in front of the young assassin. "Well, I suppose it's our turn... Ready Misato?"

"Okay, Ji!" The gun girl laughed.

"_Tamashi no Kyoumei!_" As the souls of Weapon and Meister resonated, Misato's weapon form transfromed into a a gauntlet with a blade jutting out of the wrist.

"You two..." Ji Hoon turned his head to face Tsubaki and Black Star, then pushed his glasses up. "might want to get out of the way."

Ji Hoon jumped into the air, the gauntlet's blade glowed yellow and fired lances of soul wavelength, each one piercing its target. As the pre-Kishin disappeared, leaving only their corrupted souls, he landed and adjusted his glasses while cherry blossoms gracefully rained from above. "_Midarezakura._"

"JI! HELP! CATCH ME!"

Ji Hoon sighed, held out his hands and flawlessly caught Misato as she fell from the sky. The Korean Meister looked at his laughing partner, shaking his head, before setting her down next to him. "You know, you really need to me more careful Misato..."

"Okay~!" The girl laughed and threw herself onto her partner with a hug.

"I hate to interrupt, but something's coming! Everyone, get ready!" Tsubaki didn't need soul perception to know that there was something else out there. The forest may have been quiet, but they could still hear birds and animals rustling through the trees. Now, it was completely silent, except for one thing.

"More pre-Kishin?" Black Star asked.

Tsubaki's reflection appeared in the sword's blade. "I don't know. But, I do hear some very unstable footsteps coming closer."

Black Star growled, he heard them too. And there was only one person with self esteem so low, they'd actually walked like that, Chrona. And if she was here, Maka would've been better for this mission, not him. "Anyway, what do you want?"

Chrona stepped out from behind the trees. She hadn't changed much; she still wore that odd black dress, she still had pink hair styled like Medusa's and she still looked androgynous enough to leave everyone confused about her gender. Chrona turned to look at Black Star, then at Ji Hoon and back to Black Star, then said nothing. She only held out her hand and Black Blood flowed out of the wrist, forming a large sword.

"... Ragnarok... Screech Alpha..." Chrona stabbed the sword into the ground and swung upwards, sending a freakish-looking mouth flying at the two Meisters.

"Move!" Black Star sidestepped the attacke and Ji Hoon pushed his partner out of the way, leaving himself barely enough time to dodge.

"Lady Medusa now controls the Witches' Mass." Even Black Star could see that Chrona had changed since she ran from Shibusen, her voice was no longer soft and unsure. It was now cold and hollow, with madness lacing every word. "This is our warning to all dogs of Shibusen, beware the Black Sabbath."

Black Blood surged from Chrona's back, forming a large dragon. The construct beat its wings and flew off into the sky, leaving the Weapons and Meisters below with a feeling of apprehension and unease. So logically, Misato decided this would be the best time to have a laughing fit. "That was awesome! So, you guys are with Shibusen, right? So, whaddya need us for?"

Ji Hoon took his glasses off and put them in his hoodie's pocket. "Admittedly, I'm curious as well. But, we should probably talk about this somewhere else." The Korean Meister had a point. The silence of the forest was broken and the pre-Kishin in the forest were already moving towards them.

-Japan: Outskirts of Aokigahara-

The group of four were all sitting around a table at a snack bar. They had finally managed to get out of the forest and were all hungry. Black Star got several orders of Takoyaki (Fried Octopus) and was eating as if he had been starved for weeks. Tsubaki sat next to him, smiling nervously as she picked at a light salad. Ji Hoon ordered Soba (Buckwheat Noodles) for himself and a shaved ice for Misato.

Ji Hoon smiled before subtly pushed a container of napkins towards the ravenous Black Star. Silently, he wondered to himself how on earth someone like the young assassin could be part of Shibusen. Ji Hoon turned to face Tsubaki and folded his hands. "Now, I believe that you mentioned you were part of Shibusen earlier. But, my question is, why is Lord Death recruiting students now, of all times? It seems a bit out of character..."

Tsubaki took a deep breath, there was no easy way to explain what was going on. "The first Kishin, Asura and a powerful witch named Medusa have gone into hiding and Lord Death suspects they're both amassing armies for a war. And, based on Chrona's interference, it looks like the Witches are going to make the first move. Shibusen needs your help. So, can we count on you?"

"I don't see why not." Ji Hoon reached across the table. "After all, it is the right thing to do."

Misato laughed and grabbed Tsubaki's hand. "I'm in too!"

"That's wonderful!" Tsubaki gently smiled, and handed them a sheet of artifact paper. This sheet of paper will take you to Shibusen. All you have to do is say the name of your destination and it should take you there. I recommend asking it to take you to the Death Room. Lord Death will explain everything there once all the teams have arrived"

"All right! Thanks for the meal!" Black Star clapped, got up and walked off. "We gotta report back to Lord Death. Ready, Tsubaki?"

"Right!" The girl followed after her Meister, holding a ball with a skull painted on it.

When the pair from Shibusen were out of earshot, Ji Hoon turned to his partner and held out an arm. "Well, Ouka? Ready to go?"

Misato giggled, and gracefully took it. "Why, yes I am Mr. Pak. Let's learn how to save the world!"

As the artifact paper drew the duo into its seal, a thought had occurred to Pak Ji Hoon. Something that would keep them away from Aokigahara for a long time.

Black Star left them with the bill and they never paid.

-Japan: Somewhere secluded-

Leaving the Korean Meister and his partner at the snack bar, Black Star and Tsubaki made their way out of the forest. Once they were sure no one could see them, Tsubaki threw the smoke bomb to the ground and an image of Lord Death appeared in the cloud in front of the two of them. "Yeah~ Yeah~. Black Star, Tsubaki, what's up you two? How'd the mission go?"

"It went well, sir." Tsubaki gave a polite bow. "But, I do have one question... This may be important."

Lord Death looked deep in thought, for about five seconds before clapping his hands. "Well, sure~ Tsubaki. You can ask me anything~!"

Tsubaki bit her lip and fidgeted nervously. "Well... Um... You see..."

Black Star decided now was a good time to join the conversation. "We had a run-in with Chrona and she mentioned something called a Black Sabbath. Does that mean anything to you?"

Lord Death froze and remained silent before taking a deep breath. "Yes, I do know what it means. But, I think it would be best if you came back to Shibusen for that. The other Spartoi teams deserve to know as well..."

* * *

Tech Names

Kusarigama: Chain-Scythe

Youto: Demon Sword/Uncanny Sword

Kage Boshi: Shadow Star

Midarezakura: Tumultuous Cherry Blossoms

**AN: In retrospect, I'm actually less than thrilled with how I wrote this chapter the first time around. Too many plot holes, poorly written dialogue, rushed plot progression, not enough focus on action or description, things like that. But it seemed like a good idea to write at the time. So, I just basically rewrote it while editing. Also, I'm really sorry about the dodgy update schedule, I did have summer classes and that took up most of my time. Basically, I started rewriting but, I didn't have any time to really finish it until now. I'll try my best to not do that again. It's really not cool for anyone who still reads this. I'm really sorry everyone.  
**


	6. Chapter 5: Vampires Don't Sparkle!

Key

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

_Hello!_= Thinking

_Hello_= Tech. Names or words in foreign languages

-Bavaria: An old Castle-

Somewhere in southern Germany, an old castle stood regally upon a grand mountain. The castle served as a reminder of the old nobility; mad princes and kings who stole the plans to their castles from fairy tales. Maybe some still do. But, it doesn't matter. What matters is the fact that a familiar young Shinigami and his two weapon partners were standing in front of the large iron doors.

"_All right, all I have to do is remember what Father told me and we should be fine._" Underneath his calm facade, Kidd's apprehension over the negotiations sent his mind into overdrive. He recalled an earlier conversation he had with his father, running over all the information that the older Death had given him and his partners, just in case diplomacy broke down.

(Kidd's Mind: Flashback)

Lord Death began, conversing with Kidd and his weapon partners. "All right~! I'm gonna tell you everything you're gonna need to know about Vampires~. So, please pay attention. OK~? First, let's go over their powers. Most vampire novels get the basics of their powers right. You know: superhuman strength and speed, heightened senses, accelerated healing... That sort of stuff. But, what really makes them dangerous is their hypnosis. You see, vampires can influence people by tuning their wavelengths to match their victims. The mind control starts subtly at first, like that voice at the back of your head, telling you to do things you shouldn't. Then it gets louder and louder, until you're fully under their spell and are forced to fight each other to the death."

Patti giggled maniacally from behind Kidd, saying something about becoming a vampire hunter and fighting a giant snake demon. Liz, however, was much less enthusiastic and had begun moaning things like "This will never work" and "We're gonna die!".

Kidd looked his father straight in the eye, there was a very important issue that needed to be addressed. "Father, what about their bite?"

Lord Death pointed a cartoonish white hand at his son. "I'm glad you asked Kidd~! Well, vampire saliva contains a powerful numbing agent and they feed by biting into the artery, then lapping up the blood. Also, the bite isn't what turns the victim into a vampire, it's the forced ingestion of vampire blood."

Kidd nodded, apparently taking notes in his mind. "I see... And what about their weaknesses?"

If Lord Death wasn't wearing a mask, he'd be smiling. He was lucky to have such a smart son. "Right. Now, here's where things get tricky.. Since there are so many sources, some of the stuff that people think can kill them; really doesn't. For example, sunlight doesn't turn a vampire into a walking bonfire in a matter of seconds. And holy artifacts can only keep them away if the bearer's faith is strong. Otherwise, they're useless. But, this doesn't mean they're invincible. Gold, Silver and Weapon forms can bypass their healing powers and simply hurting them badly enough should work too. And although sunlight isn't fatal, it can kill them over time. They can't enter any home unless invited and they can't kill you in their homes either. However, even with these restrictions, they can get very creative. Be careful~!"

"Thank you Father. We will" Kidd turned to leave, just about ready to prepare for the next flight to Germany.

Lord Death held his hand up, his voice became very serious. "I mean it Kidd. Be careful. Avoid any and all physical conflict if you can. If you do get in a fight, end it quick; Vampires may be proud, but they become more willing to use their other powers if they've lost too much blood or if they're just plain hungry."

"Understood." Kidd replied. "Anything else?"

Lord Death scratched his head, did he forget anything? "Nope, that's all."

That was all Kidd could remember before the voices of Liz and Patti brought him back to reality.

-Germany: Castle Gate-

Liz raised an eyebrow at her Meister, waving a hand in front of Kidd's face. "Oi Kidd, what happened? You've been spacing out for a while."

Kidd nodded. "Sorry, just going over what Father told us. Do you think they heard us knock?"

"Yup~! One of em's here right now~!" Patti's answer caused Kidd to jump and look around nervously. Leaning against the door frame was a pale young man, wearing a black overcoat with a pair of chains crossing over the waist and a pair of black pants. He had brown hair that he had partially slicked back, half of it hanging in his face. Pushing himself up, he smiled and gestured inside. "Welcome to my humble abode, honored guests. Please, feel free to enter and leave as you wish."

Kidd extended a hand in a friendly gesture. "Thank you for the generous invitation. My name is Death the Kidd, and these are my partners: Elizabeth and Patricia Thompson."

The vampire blinked in confusion, then politely smiled, making an effort to not show any teeth and shook Kidd's hand. "Ah, where are my manners? My name is Nicholas Richter. Now, seeing as there is a storm rolling in. Shall we move this conversation indoors? I believe lunch may be ready soon" He made a slight bow, politely gesturing inside.

"Yes, let's." Kidd followed the vampire into the castle with Patti dragging a scared Liz in tow, laughing madly all the way.

Richter Manor: Banquet Hall

Nicholas led Death the Kidd and the Thompson sisters through what seemed like a labyrinth of hallways lit by gas lamps. Eventually they came to a lavishly decorated hall adorned with black and gold. In the center of the room was a long table set for five.

Nicholas took a seat at the head of the table before politely gesturing to the Shibusen team to do the same. "Please, have a seat. Personally, I see no reason why we can't discuss your business here over lunch, son of Death."

Kidd felt a chill shoot through his body. In the short time that he had been in Nicholas's company, he never once mentioned that he was a Shinigami. "How-?"

"Honestly? Your namealone gave you away. After all, not many parents are willing to name their children, _Death_." Nicholas made a beckoning gesture and a butler in a black uniform arrived carrying a bottle and several wineglasses on a tray. As the butler began pouring drinks, Nicholas leaned back and steepled his hands. "Now, why does Shibusen come knocking at our door? If I remember correctly, your father tried to eradicate my kind roughly 500 years ago."

Kidd's face remained neutral and he took his seat at the far end of the table, Liz and Patti following suit. The young Shinigami's brow furrowed as he looked over his place setting. The silverware didn't look right for some reason. Was it the design? Or maybe it was the placement. Either way, Kidd really didn't have time to deal with it and turned his attention back to Nicholas. "Yes, I am aware of that chapter of Shibusen's history."

The vampire smiled; this time, showing off a set of brilliant, white teeth and two pairs of sharp fangs. "Then tell me. Why should I help you?"

"Well, it's very simple. You see-" Kidd began to explain; but, he was interrupted by a female voice.

"Brother, who are these people? You did not tell me we had company, I would have freshened up first."

A pale-skinned girl wearing a black Gothic Lolita style dress and a tiny hat pinned to her long brown hair. The girl walked to the only open place at the table, next to her brother and sat down, signaling to the servant to pour her something as well.

"Well, it is good to see you're awake, sister." Nicholas turned to Kidd and the Thompsons, gesturing to the girl who entered the room. "I would like the three of you to meet my sister, Theresa. Theresa, these people are from Shibusen. They were about to explain why they have come here."

"Oh? Well, what do they want?" She took her glass and swirled it apathetically.

Kidd started rearranging the silverware while he spoke. The place setting had been bothering him for some time and he simply couldn't take it anymore. "Well, it's quite simple. We have reason to believe that the first Kishin, Asura, and a very powerful witch named Medusa have been preparing to start a war. And, as you know, it is Shibusen's duty to preserve order in the world. Furthermore, there is a mysterious man named Noah that is amassing a large number of followers. All three of these factions, if allowed to continue, could spark a war that could destroy the world and leave millions caught in the crossfire. To counter this, Shibusen is seeking out independently operating Weapon-Meister teams and offering them the opportunity to join us and refine their talents in exchange for their help. We would like to include you in our army against these evils which may threaten the world at large."

Theresa dismissively motioned to a servant to bring out their lunch. "So, in essence, it is possible you will be facing an attack from three sides and need our help correct?.. But, what does this have to do with the Vampire clans?"

"Yes, I am curious as well. It's not our conflict, so why should we assist you?" Nicholas said, as the soup was placed before the five at the table.

Liz shot up and slammed her hands on the table, causing both Kidd and Patti to jump at the sound of rattling plates. "Hey, wait a minute! _Why should you help?_ Doesn't it even matter to you that the world might end because of this war? Don't you even care that countless lives might be caught in the crossfire. Vamps included? You'd let the other clans die when you can do something?"

Nicholas dusted his soup with pepper before tasting it and sighed. "So? We 'Vamps' as you so delicately labeled us, are quite good at hiding. It will take quite some time; but I assure you, your war will not reach us. Furthermore,Vampire clans generally serve only themselves, so who cares about the others? Anything else?"

Liz sat back down, stunned and an awkward silence fell over the room, broken only by the sound of Kidd moving spoons and forks around, muttering to himself about maximizing symmetry. Suddenly, the clanging stopped and Kidd, now finished rearranging the silverware, cleared his throat. "Now, correct me if I'm wrong, but Vampires can consume regular food and you can survive on the blood of animals. So, why do you drink human blood?"

Theresa sniffed indignantly, trust a Shinigami to ask the most obvious questions. "If you must know, it is for the taste. But, what does that have to do with our discussion."

Kidd leaned forward as he pressed his hands together, he had to word his next words carefully. One slip of the tongue could turn a relatively peaceful lunch into a bloodbath. "Then, have you tasted the Black Blood yet?"

Theresa looked up at the ceiling, trying to focus on remembering every last detail. "No, but about a week ago, a young man came giggling madly into our castle. Upon feeding on him I learned his blood had a foul taste. Was that the Black Blood?"

Kidd nodded, time for the endgame. "Correct, the Black Blood comes with the onset of Insanity. Now, if Asura and Medusa start a war, the Insanity wavelength will spread and more people will be infected with the Black Blood. Eventually, your favorite prey will disappear." Kidd paused, allowing this information to sink in for a moment. "Furthermore, aside from being a powerful witch, Medusa is also quite the mad scientist, so she might be interested in a set of Vampire test subjects. Especially those that are Weapons and Meisters. So ultimately, joining Shibusen will be to your benefit."

Nicholas nodded. The young Shinigami's argument made sense; furthermore, he actually found himself agreeing with Kidd on several points. Not that he'd ever admit it though. After all, he was heir to house Richter; if nothing else, he still had his pride. "Hmm... Very well. Seeing as there is more to be gained than lost in an alliance. We shall join Shibusen. But, at the first moment of peace, we_ will _leave. Are we clear?" The older Richter extended his hand to the Shibusen students.

Kidd calmly shook his hand, a slight smile gracing his pale face. "Symmetrically. Now, I'd like to clarify something. Our reports said you were Weapon and Meister. So, can we see a demonstration of your capabilities..."

"Very well..." Nicholas held a hand up dramatically and transformed into a storm of gears and chains, flying through the air towards Theresa.

His sister caught her brother's Weapon form and spun it for a bit before holding it out. Nicholas had transformed into a spear that looked like it was made from a clock. There was a large gear where the blade met the handle. The handle itself had segments held together by chain going halfway down its length and a weight at the other end.

"Interesting, a spear Meister..." Kid thought aloud.

Theresa snorted indignantly. Her brother, a common spear? If it weren't for their new alliance, she'd be insulted. "Oh no, Nicholas is so much more... You see, he has inherited the Clockwork Spear form. And well, you may want to step back for this." She smiled and whirled around, whipping the spear around. As she spun, the handle segments separated, revealing they were connected by a long chain. Liz and Patti transformed into their gun forms and appeared in Kidd's hands as he jumped out of range of the deadly dance. After destroying most of the banquet hall, Theresa held her Weapon behind her as the chain retracted. Finally, she spun it around a few times before brandishing it as a rifle with one hand, pointing the barrel directly at Kidd.

Nicholas transformed back into a human, a confident smirk gracing his face. "Now, will that serve as a decent demonstration?"

While Liz and Patti transformed back into human form. Kidd responded handing them a sheet of artifact paper. "All you have to do is say the name of your destination."

Theresa looked over her brother's shoulder. "Understood, I assume we are supposed to say 'Death Room' correct?"

"Correct, once your there, Father and the rest of Shibusen's staff will explain everything and work with you to get you situated in Death City. Now, if you excuse us, I need to report to my father." Kidd politely bowed, then walked off with Liz and Patti following.

"Theresa, what do you think; were we right to align ourselves with them?" Nicholas turned to his sister after the young Shinigami and his weapon partners were out of earshot.

His sister smiled, looking at the paper. "Despite their deeds against our family and kinsmen in the past, I do see it as prudent. After all, there's no reason to let our prey of choice die. And besides, with all this Twilight nonsense in popular culture, I believe it's high time the world learned to fear our kind again."

"Ah, this is ultimately a matter of pride then... Very well then, off to the Death Room." Nicholas smirked, showing his fangs. And the paper drew them into itself, burning as it fell to the ground.

Meanwhile, Death the Kidd and his partners made their way through the many dark corridors of the castle, dodging swooping bats and booby-trapped armor, in a hurried search for the main doors. But, before they could leave, Kidd decided to duck into a dark hallway. He looked to his left, Liz was on her knees, moaning about the castle. He looked to his right, Patti was taking picture of herself with a suit of armor. Deciding he was safe, Kidd went through motions to summon a portal to the Death Room. "Father, we have succeeded in recruiting the two Vampires."

Lord Death pressed his hands together then pointed at Kidd. "Well~, that's great Kidd! Now, about your next target..."

Kidd nodded. "Understood Father, where do we have to go?"

Lord Death took a deep breath, the eyes of his mask becoming more triangular and his voice becoming more serious. "That's just it, you're not going anywhere. We need the three of you back at Shibusen, it looks like Medusa's made her move. Black Star and Tsubaki just reported in. Apparently, they encountered Chrona during their mission to Japan. She said that Medusa's taken control over the Witches' Mass and she's preparing for the Black Sabbath. If that means what I think it does, then we need every member of Spartoi back immediately. We've already called the following teams: Black Star, Lunge, Diehl and Ford. They should be heading back."

"But what about any other Weapon-Meister teams?" Liz asked. "We can't just leave 'em out there!"

Lord Death sighed, she was absolutely right. But, right now, there were more pressing matters. "As of now, we have no choice but halt our search to train these newly recruited teams and prepare for war. We'll deal with any independents if they're reported."

"Understood father." Kidd nodded and the portal disappeared. The young Shinigami turned around and walked off, his weapon partners following a few steps behind. Despite the calm expression on his face; Kidd wracked his brain for answers. What was the Black Sabbath? Why hadn't his father told him about it? Didn't he trust him? With any luck, his father would tell him everything once he got back.

**AN: Well, I've done it. I've added a Vampire Weapon-Meister team. Nothing new if you read the first version of this chapter. Anyway, I basically used some the most common Vampire powers in fiction for them. Anyway, if they feel too Sue-ish, please let me know. I can always use the feedback. Especially with the dialogue, I think I'm not very good with these more passive action scenes, like negotiations**


	7. Chapter 6: The Red Riders Cometh!

**AN: Ok! The final chapter of the Meister Search arc! Now, from all the OC's are introduced, we can finally get the plot started. Oh, and thank you Wolfsbane706 for being a nice person and giving me the go-ahead to use your OC's. And I apologise in advance if I can't get their personalities right, again. Also, plateau****'s a fun word! Try using it more often in casual conversation.**

Key

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

_Hello!_= Thinking

_Hello_= Tech. Names or words in foreign languages

* * *

-Wyoming: Sky above Devil's Tower-

Somewhere near the Black Hills of northern Wyoming; a large mountain shaped like a pillar stood tall over the pine forests. This mountain was the famous "Devil's Tower" monument and flying towards this massive slab of rock was a familiar pigtailed girl riding a winged scythe. As Maka and Soul flew closer to their destination, the Weapon-Meister duo realized they couldn't see anyone down on the plateau. And this irritated Soul, he understood it was their duty to find these independent teams. But, they shouldn't have to fly across two state borders only to find out their trail went cold. That just wasn't right. "Oi Maka, you're sure about this right? I can't see anything down there."

Flying a bit lower, Maka sighed and closed her eyes. If they couldn't see any one, maybe Soul Perception could track their targets down. "Yeah, I can sense four human souls down there. But, two of them seem really familiar... Soul! I think it's them!"

Soul grunted. If the two people down there were who Maka thought they were, this wasn't going to be a friendly meeting. "Seriously? Not cool. Well Maka, what do we do?"

Maka directed her partner's weapon form down and the duo began their descent towards the plateau. "We don't really much choice. Let's go meet some old friends."

Meanwhile,two teenagers, a boy and a girl were lying on the plateau surface near a pair of large white boxes, taking in the desert sun. The boy was slightly tan and had shaggy brown hair pushed back by a pair of glasses. He wore a green t-shirt and baggy black jeans. Pushing himself up, he looked around and placed his glasses over his blood-red eyes. Grunting in frustration, he nudged the girl beside him, trying to wake her up. The girl had dull blond hair, tied back into a thick ponytail and wore a pink shirt and blue jeans. "Hannah. Oi Hannah, wake up, they're here."

"C'mon Marty, just five more minutes~." Apparently, the girl didn't want to be woken up and lazily swatted his hand away with a moan.

Marty sighed, nudging his partner again in an effort to wake her up. "Just get up, Shibusen found us, and looks like they sent some old classmates."

Hannah yawned and got to her feet, stretching her arms above her head. "Seriously? I thought they gave up on us."

Marty shrugged and got up as well. He had no idea why Shibusen decided to send people after them again. They made it fairly clear that they were never coming back after they left. But, when a certain pigtailed Meister and her partner landed in front of them, he had a feeling he'd find out soon enough.

Hanna smiled and walked towards the Shibusen duo. "Well, well, well... Soul Eater Evans and Maka Albarn, this is a pretty nice surprise. So, what's up? I thought you guys gave up on trying to get us back."

Soul stepped between Hannah and his Meister, his red eyes set in a cold glare. "We did. So, what gives? Last we heard, you two were working with Medusa."

Hannah gave a non-committal shrug, as if defecting to the Witches meant nothing to her. "Meh, not anymore. Working for Medusa sucked. Plus, no matter what we did for her, our Soul Resonance never got any better. So, we decided to take some weird dud with a book up on his offer for work." She stuck out her lips, wracking her brain for an answer. "I think his name started with an N, or something. What was it again?"

"Noah! You mean you're both working for him now?" Maka spat out the name like it left a bad taste in her mouth.

Marty smirked and walked up to his partner, putting an arm over her shoulder. "Got it in one, Albarn. You're looking at the first two members of the Rotreiters. Not that it matters though, thanks to Noah's work, I don't thing you'd last two minutes against us now."

Maka scanned the plateau with Soul Perception. She knew that Marty and Hannah were the only ones there. She sensed four wavelengths while in air; but, she could only see Marty, Hannah and those two objects behind them. Squinting, she saw they were just white boxes decorated with ornate black carvings. Based on what Maka saw, they were fairly large boxes; possibly large enough to hold a person. And she could sense the other two wavelengths coming from both of them. Realizing what was going on, she turned to her former comrades, knowing she wouldn't like the answers. "Alright, I can also sense two more souls in those boxes behind you. Care to explain?"

Marty laughed and Hannah transformed into a twin-saber, flying towards her Meister. He caught his partner's Weapon form and spun her for a moment before holding it in front of him. "Let's just say, Lord Death's not the only one interested in independent Weapons and Meisters. And they're not just boxes. They're coffins linked to the Book of Eibon, ready to transport the team to Noah's base at our signal. Anything other questions?"

Maka took a deep breath and cleared her mind. It was a shame, Marty and Hannah were both very good friends. She wanted to bring them back, she really did. But, now they were enemies of Shibusen and she just had to accept it. "No, that's all we need to know. Ready, Soul?"

"Yeah" Her partner transformed into a scythe without hesitation, his voice monotonous.

Hannah whistled in surprise, looking over Soul's new Weapon form. It had been a while since the two teams parted ways. So naturally, she was used to seeing Soul's simpler, pre-Death Scythe form. "Wow, looks like Soul finally became a Death Scythe, huh? I guess that explains the flying."

"Looks like it... Guess that also means we don't have to hold back then!" Marty held his Weapon in front of him and shifted into an offensive stance. Marty smirked and launched forward, dragging one of his Weapon's blades across the ground.

"Let's go, Soul Eater!" Without hesitation, Maka ran forward, holding her scythe in front of her. She swung diagonally at her former classmates. Her mind was focused on two goals, she had to stop Marty and Hannah, and she had to rescue whoever were in that box.

Marty smirked, blocking with the shaft of his twin-saber. Even if she did manage to turn Soul into a Death Scythe, even if she did have a new uniform; she was still the same Maka Albarn they went to school with. Good old practical, predictable, stubborn Maka Albarn. Pushing the scythe to the side with a grunt, he turned around and threw a back kick into Maka's stomach, knocking air out of her lungs.

Taking advantage of her recovery, Marty scrambled out of the way and put as much distance between him and Maka as possible. Marty thumbed his nose and smirked, he managed to catch her off guard, now time to finish things. "Say Hannah, why don't we show them how much stronger we've become?"

"Alright! Ready? _Soul Resonance!_" Maka felt Marty and Hannah's soul wavelengths become stronger and watched the blades of Hannah's Weapon form glow blue. Taking advantage of her opponent's hesitation; Maka ran forward, her scythe held in front of her. She only managed a few steps before getting pushed back by a thin line of Soul Wavelength.

"Our _Wave Blade_'s gotten stronger and faster ever since we left Shibusen." Marty pointed his partner's Weapon form at the Shibusen duo and smiled. Judging by the look on her face, it was obvious that Maka thought they were bluffing. Well, if she was shocked by just that, what they were going to do next would blow her away. Marty spun his twin-saber wildly around his body, getting faster with each pass. As he spun his weapon, blue rings of soul wavelength began to float around him. Finally, Marty shouldered his weapon and thrust his hand forward, sending the rings flying in all directions towards the pigtailed Meister. "Now, try to stop this!_ Halo Breaker!_"

Maka swore under her breath and tried to block the halos as they flew at her. But, despite her best efforts, a few of them managed to hit their mark. One of them caught her in the arm, knocking Soul out of her hands. Another hit her in the chest; sending her into another, hitting her in the back and knocked to the ground. Maka noticed her breathing was much heavier, those halos must have knocked the wind out of her. Groaning, she tried to get back up, reaching an arm out to her former friends. "Not yet, I'm... not... done... yet"

Hannah changed back into human form and looked over the fallen Meister. She made a clicking noise with her tongue as she shook her head. She once respected Maka, saw her as an equal. Now, she looked at the girl, from her plain, predictable pigtails, to the Death Scythe lying in the dirt, to her torn and filthy white trench coat and saw nothing but pity. Maybe it was Noah's training, maybe it was the letdown of Soul's Death Scythe form, she couldn't explain it. "You know what Marty? Let's give Maka the team we captured, looks like Shibusen's gonna need all the help they can get."

Marty reached into his pocket and took out a piece of artifact paper. Unlike the paper Lord Death gave to Spartoi, Noah's paper was black and had an intricate seal drawn on it with red ink. "I think your right. Oh, and Maka? You really have to adapt, we made the _Halo Breaker_ with you specifically in mind"

Marty threw the paper into the air with a smirk and the seal glowed red, drawing Marty and Hannah into its depths. The rogue team disappeared into the seal and the paper burned away as it fell. Until the wind blew away the ashes.

Soul transformed back into human form without hesitation, holding a hand out to his Meister. "Maka? Oi, Maka! You alright?"

Maka smiled weakly, letting Soul help her up. "Yeah... Now come on, we gotta check who's in those coffins."

Soul grunted, supporting his Meister's weight as the duo made their way over to the coffins. What appeared to be ornate black designs carved into the lids and sides were nothing but a series of complex seals, no doubt a system for sending the teams to Noah's base. "Maka?"

Maka nodded and Soul wordlessly turned an arm into a scythe blade and stuck it under the lid of one of the coffins. Using the blade for leverage, Soul managed to pry the lid off the coffin. Inside the first coffin, was a little girl. She looked around twelve years old with messy, chin-length red hair framing a pale, freckled face; wearing a yellow sundress with pink trainers and a sleeveless light blue cardigan.

Wordlessly, Soul turned to work on the second coffin while Maka tried to wake the first girl up. Forcing the other lid open, they found another, older girl inside. She looked around seventeen, had dark brown skin and long black hair tied into a low ponytail. The older girl wore a gray fatigue jacket, a dark blue t-shirt and black jeans with hiking boots.

Soul nudged the older girl, trying to wake her up. "Oi Maka, this one's not moving. How's the other one?"

Maka sighed and shook her head. She didn't think she really had to say anything. The younger girl was just as catatonic. "We better send them back to Shibusen, maybe Dr. Stein and Nygus can treat them."

Soul nodded. "Right."

Silently, Maka helped Soul push the two coffins closer together and produced a sheet of artifact paper from her coat pocket. Quietly uttering the phrase, "Death Room" under her breath, she placed it on the coffins. Walking over to the plateau's edge, Maka grabbed her partner's Weapon form and watched the coffins disappear into the seal before jumping and flying off.

-Wyoming: A Roadside Diner-

Soul and Maka lacked a portable means for summoning a portal to the Death Room like Tsubaki and Black Star had. And they weren't Shinigami, so they couldn't go through the motions for communicating with Lord Death either. So, they had to use the method known by generations of Shibusen students. Wander around until they found something made of glass; like a mirror or window, fog up the glass and write the number 42-42-564. On an unrelated note, the clever little rhyme about Death's door is optional, but it never hurts.

Lord Death nodded his head, deep in thought. Maka and Soul had just finished delivering their report of the mission and he had a lot to think about. "So, Marty and Hannah were waiting for you when you arrived, eh? Well, the team you recovered arrived safe and sound, Stein and Nygus are looking after them. But, it seems like things are getting pretty bad..."

Maka looked down and clenched her fists. "It gets worse. Noah's founded his own group, the Rotreiters. We're not sure what they want, but Marty and Hannah are two of the founding members and they said he's also after independent Weapons and Meisters."

Lord Death sighed. He didn't know what Noah wanted. But, considering the trouble he's caused and the fact that he had the Book of Eibon, it couldn't be good. "Which is why I need you two back here immediately. If Marty and Hannah are working with Noah, there's a good chance they've leaked valuable information about our strengths and weaknesses. So, as much as I hate to say it. We have no choice but to halt our search for independent Weapons and Meisters and we need you here to help train the teams we've already recruited and you two to get stronger yourselves. Furthermore, we've received word that Medusa's gained control of the Witches' Mass"

Maka pressed against the mirror. She still had a grudge against a certain snake witch for kidnapping Chrona. And she still believed they could get her back. "WHAT? FROM WHO?"

The Shinigami looked at Maka, the round eyeholes of his mask becoming more serious looking triangles. "According to Black Star and Tsubaki's report, from Chrona herself... We'll fill you in on the details."

Maka growled and walked off with Soul in tow as the mirror disconnected with a click. "Fine, we'll be right there."

* * *

**AN: Okay, if anyone actually speaks German, I do have a quick question. How do you say Red Riders in German? Anyway, if the Noah of Wrath founded his own organization, odds are he'd want to use it to start a world war. So, he'd use name it after the most famous harbinger of war, the Red Horseman of the Apocalypse. If anyone has a better name, feel free to suggest one. Also, I'm going to be taking a vote about three Soul Eater villains (Medusa, Noah and Asura), and what I should do with them. Here's what I have in mind:**

**A. The villains are fighting each other as much as they are Shibusen**

**B. They form a three-way alliance promising to stay out of each other's way.**

**C. Asura kills Noah and takes his organization after getting something he wants.**

**E. Noah should become less important and I should focus on the other two.**

**F. Medusa experiments with making a Kishin by feeding someone Weapon Souls**

**G. Any combination of the above.**

**Also, please leave a review. I'd love to hear what you all think about how the fic's going so far.**


	8. Interlude: Shibusen's Orientation Day!

Key

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

_Hello!_= Thinking

_Hello_= Tech. Names or words in foreign languages

* * *

-Shibusen: Death Room-

The Death Room was Lord Death's private office, the place where certain Weapon-Meister teams went to receive mission details or be assigned remedial lessons. The room looked like a large field of oddly shaped crosses under the open blue sky. It was bigger on the inside than on the outside, which was a good thing; because if it was a normal room, the five weapon Meister teams would be have felt very cramped when they walked in. It had been a week since the teams were gathered and after getting used to life in Death City; it was now time for one of the most important events in their lives, Orientation Day.

Taiyun laughed, stretching as he looked around. "All right, that Artifact Paper had to be... the _BEST _way to travel! So this is the Death Room? It's huge!"

Natsumi nodded, rocking back and forth on her heels. "I know right? Still, I can't believe we're actually at Shibusen! After all those stories our parents told us, we're actually here! It's more beautiful than I imagined..."

"If you two are done fangirl-ing, I believe we should check out the other teams. We may have to work with them in the future and_ I'd_ like to be on good terms with at least one of them." Akiko sighed, sitting at the base of a nearby cross, notebook in hand.

"Aw, C`mon Shuu..." Tai whined. "You can't tell me _you're_not excited."

"Well... Maybe I am excited. B-but just a little bit!" Akiko stuttered and hid her head in her hands, hiding a growing blush. Taking a moment to calm down, she looked over their fellow recruits, stopping at one particular team. "Hey Tai, doesn't that guy look familiar..."

"Eh?" Tai grunted, demonstrating mastery of the English language.

The more serious twin pointed at a boy wearing dark green shorts and a yellow sweatshirt. "Over there."

"No way, it's Feng!" Tai shouted, running toward the boy.

"Oh boy, we should stop him. Right, Natsumi?" Akiko turned to face her sister. Or rather, where her sister had been standing, since she was running after Tai. The calmer Reyes-Honda hid her face in her palm and sighed before walking after them. Without a doubt, this would be a long year

Meanwhile, at some other part of the Death Room, a boy in a yellow sweatshirt was conversing with a punkish looking teen in a white shirt with red bands all over it. "Colin, have you seen some of these other teams?"

"Yeah, we can probably work with that guy wearing the army helmet and his partner. There's a team somewhere with an twelve year old girl that we should probably avoid. Other than that... can't say!"

"Alright-" Fenix began before a loud "Feng!" cut him off. "Oh dear God no..." he groaned, just before the air was knocked out of his lungs and he was trapped in an all too familiar bear hug.

"BROTHER! I'M SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE! DID YOU MISS YOUR BIG BRO? HUH?" Taiyun gushed as his grip on his little brother slowly tightened.

Fenix slowly counted to ten and tried his best to contain his rage, but was failing miserably. Thankfully, Taiyun was too happy to notice. When his brother finally let him go, Fenix dusted himself off and glared at Taiyun. "What on earth are _you_ doing here? Aren't supposed to be in Hong Kong?"

Tai grinned and hooked his arm around his brother's shoulder. "Yup! But I was recruited by this team from Shibusen. So, guess we're working together, huh?"

Fenix ground his teeth, trying to fake a smile before pushing his brother away from him. "Yes. It's truly _wonderful_... But, if you're here... That means..."

As if on cue, Natsumi came up to the brothers and started patting Fenix's head. "HIYAH Feng! Oh wow, you're still really tiny!"

"Well, hello to you too, Nacchan..." Fenix said. "Is Akiko with you too?"

"Sorry, but who are these people?" Colin asked, feeling out of the loop.

Fenix sighed and gestured at Tai and Natsumi. "They. Are part of the reason I left Hong Kong."

"Aw... don't be like that, Feng~.You know you love us.."Natsumi said, hugging the younger Zhao from behind.

"Not really... AND IT'S FENIX" Fenix clenched and unclenched his fists in frustration. Feng was a childhood nickname and Zhao Lifeng was the name he was born with, but he left both behind a long time ago.

"Excuse me. But could you keep it down?" A young man in a black trench coat asked walking up to the group. "My sister and I are trying to relax."

"Hm... that pale skin, that affinity to black clothing, red eyes..." Tai gasped and pointed at him in horror. "HOLY CRAP! A VAMPIRE! NATSUMI, THE GARLIC WREATH! BACK AWAY! AND TORMENT US NO LONGER DEMON!"

"Right-o!"

"First of all, my name is Nicholas Richter. Not, a demon. And second." The vampire looked unamused as he grabbed the garlic wreath and took a bite out of it, making a grand show of chewing and spitting it on the ground. "Please do not insult me like that."

"Uh, just to clarify, that demented Stephanie Meyer woman was wrong in saying you guys sparkle right?" Natsumi asked, slowly backing away from him

The vampire sighed, trying desperately to keep his temper in check. "Yes... Vampire skin actually blisters and eventually bursts into flames when exposed to sunlight."

The katana girl smiled. "Cool, just wanted to make sure!"

"You are welcome...?" Nicholas backed away awkwardly. Silently, he wondered to himself if these people were actually Shibusen's new recruits or if this was all an elaborate joke.

Suddenly, Lord Death's voice rang throughout the room, causing everyone to gather in front of the central dais. There, in his almost cartoon-ish glory; stood the founder and current Headmaster of Shibusen, Death himself. Beside him stood Marie Mjolnir, Sid Barrett and Spirit Albarn, esteemed members of the school's faculty.

"Hey everybody~! Since you're all here, I guess you've accepted the invitation to join Shibusen. Maybe you're doing it for excitement, to live up to your parent's legacy or simply because it's right. I don't know and it doesn't matter~! You're students of this school now and I think you have a right to know why. You may have heard this already, but the Kishin Asura is still out there, as well as the witch, Medusa Gorgon and a mad man named Noah. Medusa has gained control of the Witches' Mass and Noah's gone and founded a group called the Rotereiters to counter Shibusen. Since we may be heading towards a war, we've made it a mission to gather as many independent Weapon-Meister teams as possible and offer them positions at Shibusen, to protect and to train them. Basically, you'll enrolled here and take missions to fight pre-Kishin or evil humans who are on a very specific list. Anyway, best of luck to all of you~! Your classes start tomorrow~!" Lord Death pointed his giant cartoon hands at the teams. "Any questions?"

"Just one"

The entire group turned in disbelief to see a pale-skinned girl, her hand held high in the air and a determined look on her face. She wore an elaborately Gothic Lolita style black dress with white trim and a tiny hat pinned in her long brown hair. "I believe you mentioned earlier that you would protect and train us as students of your school... However, you did neglect to mention that you yourself ordered the systematic extermination of my ancestors, the Vampires, in the past. Care to explain the hypocrisy behind that, Death?"

The Shinigami tilted his head to the side. "Oh? Well, not to be rude; but who are you exactly?"

"My name is Theresa Richter." The pale girl gestured to the young man at her side. He wore a dark black overcoat with a pair of chains crossed over the waist and black pants. Like the girl, he had pale skin and brown hair, only his was cut short with one half slicked back. "And this is my brother and Weapon, Nicholas. But, more importantly; we are Vampires."

Upon hearing the pale girl and her brother were vampires, most of the other recruits began conversing amongst themselves. Vampires at Shibusen? What was going on? Was the Shinigami was going to use them as a peace offering for the Vampires? Was that why they were selected?

"This was a mistake. We never should've left Japan."

"But_ Ji~,_ working with Vampires sounds like fun!"

"Now that I think about it... We're prolly giving up a lot if we throw in with Shibusen, right?"

"True..."

"C'mon guys. Let's give Lord Death a chance to explain what's goin' on."

"You mean to tell me your willing to work with Vampires, Taiyun?"

"Well yeah, Feng! I mean-"

Nero stood off to the side with Mattie, watching the chaotic scene unfold with relative disinterest. He sighed to himself and closed his eyes, deep in thought. It didn't really matter to him if Vampires were recruited by Shibusen. However, this was not necessarily out of any sense of open-mindedness or acceptance. Nero simply wanted to hunt pre-Kishin and to him, working with Shibusen was merely a means to the end.

Mattie folded his arms and leaned towards his Meister. "These teams don't look like much_... _Hey Nero, how long do you think they'll last?"

"Based on first impressions, there's really only one team here that seems fairly strong enough to qualify as Shibusen recruits."

"The Vampires, right?"

Nero glared at his partner. "Obviously."

"What about the others?"

"As far as I'm concerned, they're nothing but cannon fodder. They'll most likely either die or quit after their first mission."

Matthieu sucked some air through his teeth and sighed. Luckily, the other recruits were too busy arguing amongst themselves to hear his Meister's remarks. Nero could be a very blunt, border-lining on rude at times and it would complicate things if they were the other recruits from day one. "Well, that's a bit harsh. It might be fun working with some of these guys!"

Nero's face was still cast in a blank expression. "No, it won't."

Tensions between the other recruits were coming to a head, the teachers of Shibusen could see that. After all, these teams had probably been working independently for years. So, it was to be expected that they'd be unwilling to work with others. But they all knew one thing, they had to intervene before these young Weapons and Meisters came to blows.

"QUIET!" A deep, booming voice rang through the Death Room, silencing any conflict. The young recruits turned their attention back to the dais, gazing wide-eyed at Lord Death out of both fear and new-found respect. The Shinigami coughed into his hand and cleared his throat. "Good, now that I've got everyone's attention again. Allow me to explain everything. It's true that I tried to exterminate the Vampires in the past. But, that's all in the past and I'll admit, it wasn't my best moment. And it was rude of me to hide the fact that I wanted to form an alliance between Shibusen and the Vampire clans. But, what matters now is that we both have a common enemy in the Kishin Asura. Furthermore, we're also working to stop both the Witches' Mass and there's a new organization, the Rotereiters that's rapidly gaining followers. So, thanks to the combined activities of these three factions, we've spread our forces pretty thin. And, as the Spartoi teams have probably told you, we can really use any help we can get. Theresa, Nicholas, I hope this is a decent explanation. And everyone else, I apologize for not informing you earlier. However, I am going to ask each and everyone of you one last time. Are you sure you want to enroll at Shibusen? You'll have to understand that you'll be giving up a lot of the freedom you had when you were independent teams. Furthermore, it won't be all fun and games. There's going to be a lot of work and most of it'll be very dangerous. So, what do you say?"

After a few seconds of thought, Zhao Taiyun and the Reyes-Honda twins were the first to step up. "We're in!"

"Hell yeah!"

"Someone has to keep these two in line."

Followed by Pak Ji-hoon and Misato Ouka. "Well, despite its flaws, I'm actually quite fond of this world."

"Your mask is funny, Mr. Death! I like you!"

One by one, each team agreed to join Shibusen, knowing the risks and exactly what they were giving up.

Death looked over the recruits standing proudly in front of him. "Alrighty then~! Any questions?"

Almost instantly, Taiyun raised his hand. "Yeah, do we get awesome uniforms too?"

The Shinigami laughed. "Sorry, but I'm afraid those are for the teams of Spartoi only. But, outside of that, you can pretty much wear anything you want. Even the many different school uniforms."

As the teams dispersed, the mirror behind Death rippled and Stein appeared onscreen, looking over the clipboard in his hands. "Yo~ Stein-kun. What's up?"

Stein looked up and adjusted his glasses. "I've just received the latest medical reports from the hospital. It seems the team Soul and Maka rescued are finally awake, but we're keeping them for a few more days just to run some routine tests. According to their ID's, their names are Chelsea Dagger and Rebecca 'Beck' Vasquez."

The doctor held up a pair of photos. Chelsea was the younger of the two. At around twelve years old, she had messy, chin-length red hair that framed a pale, freckled face set in a shy smile. Rebecca was the older girl, with long black hair tied back into a ponytail and a cocky smirk on her dark-skinned face, flashing the 'devil horns' at the camera.

Stein turned the screw in his head. "I asked them a few questions and from what they told me, Chelsea's a Spear Meister and uses Rebecca as a Weapon. Apparently, they were jumped by Marty and Hannah about a week ago."

If Lord Death had a chin, he'd have stroked it thoughtfully. "I see, have you explained the situation to them?"

Stein nodded. "They understand what they're getting into and stated they'll do anything to get stronger. However, preliminary assessments show that their soul resonance is somewhat unstable. So, what should we do?"

The Shinigami tilted his head to the left in interest. "Well, let's give them an easy field assignment and let's see where they go..."

Stein nodded. "Also, it seems we've recently been receiving some rather unsettling reports from our global branches. Apparently, there have been anti-Shibusen demonstrations occurring all over the world, some of them have escalated into full blown riots."

Death leaned forwards, there had been protesters in the past, but they were usually a very vocal minority. So, to have demonstrations and riots happening... And you're sure it's not due to the Madness Wavelength?"

Stein flipped through a few pages and shook his head. "We're not sure of the real cause, sir. But, many reports from these incidents say that no one at those protests showed any signs of being infected with Insanity. Furthermore, it seems like they had no memory of taking part in these activities, which is inconsistent with signs of an Insanity Attack."

"Well, it'd be best to keep tabs on any Rotereiter activity and these demonstrations, there's no way all of this is a coincidence..." Lord Death stared silently as the mirror went black with a audible click. There was more going on behind the scenes, he was certain of that much. He just had to figure out what that may be.

* * *

**AN: Well, the Meister Search Arc's finally done. And, if anyone's wondering why I introduced so many OC's, here's an answer. I originally wanted the story just to be the OC's. But, I couldn't think of a good way to introduce them. So, I figured have the Spartoi teams go around the world and recruit them. So, I just left the canon cast in after that and things sort of escalated from there. I'm really sorry if some of the characters blurred together and you couldn't tell who was doing/saying what, I'm still learning what to do and I'm going to work on that from here on out.**


	9. Chapter 7: Fighting on the First Day?

**AN: I added Anya and Tsugumi, the characters from Soul Eater Not! in this chapter. Anyway, it's basically Ohkubo's spinoff/prequel, explaining some aspects of the SE universe that he didn't address in the manga proper.**

Key

"Hello"= Speaking

"HELLO"= Yelling

_Hello!_= Thinking

_Hello_= Tech. Names or words in foreign languages

Death City: Shibusen Staircase

In the state of Nevada, under the bright light of a laughing sun, you'll find a majestic walled city, that looks like a setpiece from a Tim Burton movie. In the center of this city, the Shinigami Vocational School for Weapons and Meisters, more commonly known as Shibusen stands proudly over the rest of the city. Here, aspiring young Weapons and Meisters travel from all across the country, even from around the world for one purpose, to study. Under the guidance of Shibusen's faculty, these students learn to hone their skills and protect the order of the world from the Kishin threat. And on the white marble staircase leading up to this prestigious institution, you'll find a trio of students; Zhao Taiyun and the Reyes-Honda twins, Natsumi and Akiko, late for their first day as official students.

When the trio finally reached the top of the staircase, Taiyun wiped the sweat from her brow and hunched over out of breath. He gladly accepted the invitation to join Shibusen alongside his partners. But no one, not even their own parents told them it would be so difficult to get there. They were barely halfway to Shibusen and they were already out of breath. "So tired~! So... many... stairs... Must! Keep! Going! Must! Get! To! Class!"

Natsumi fell to her knees, trying to catch her breath. Maybe running all the way to Shibusen from their apartment wasn't the best idea. "No wonder our parents are still in such good shape. It's a freakin' workout just getting to the door!"

Akiko nodded in agreement and rubbed her sore feet. "Okay, I'll admit they may have romanticized their stories about their times at Shibusen. But, this never would've happened if you two woke up on time!

The young Meister laughed and took a seat on the steps, enjoying the panoramic view of Death City. "So, we overslept, it's happened before... Anyway, it's not like you're any better Shuu. I mean, weren't you the one that spent four days straight on a 'special' doujin project?"

"T-That's completely different! It was a summer project and you know it!" Akiko's face turned bright red and she clapped her hands over her mouth. Calming down, she took a deep breath and walked towards Shibusen. "Anyway, come on you two. We're going to be late."

Getting back on his feet, Taiyun nervously scratched the back of his head and grinned. "Um, which classroom are we going to again? I kinda forgot."

Akiko sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. Trust her Meister to forget something this important. She pulled a piece of paper out of her gi top and unfolded it. Clearing her throat, she read the note to her Meister and sister.

Dear Taiyun, Natsumi and Akiko,

You three have been placed in Class Crescent Moon with Dr. Stein. Anyway, please report to Room 112 for homeroom, it shouldn't be that hard to find! Do your best and good luck!

From,

Lord Death~.

Natsumi folded her arms and scanned the front yard before pointing at a girl with black pigtails dressed in a black Shibusen girl's uniform. "Well, as much as I trust Lord Death... Maybe we should ask how to get there. Just to be safe."

Nodding in agreement, Taiyun walked over to the girl and tapped her shoulder. "Excuse me, do you know where Room 112 is? See, we're new here and-"

"GET AWAY FROM MY WEAPON, PEASANTS!" An angry girl with long blond hair stomped over to them. The girl wore a long white blazer with puffed up sleeves over a pleated white dress and a frilly white headband. Glaring at the trio, the blond girl pulled the pigtailed girl away from them and started looking her over intently. "They didn't hurt you did they, Tsugumi?"

The pigtailed girl, apparently called Tsugumi sighed. "No they didn't, Anya. They were just asking for directions to Maka-senpai's classroom."

Natsumi smiled and stuck her hand out at the blond girl. "Yeah, we're one of the new teams Spartoi recruited."

Anya walked around the trio, looking them over condescendingly. This team were one of the new recruits everyone was talking about? She had met a few of them earlier and only a few of the teams really impressed her. And based on first impressions, these three definitely weren't one of them. "Well, If you're really the best Shibusen could find. I must say, I am very disappointed. Tell me, what's your Kishin Egg count? I can only imagine it's terribly low."

Taiyun tilted his head in confusion. Just what was this girl getting at? "Um... I dunno. None, I guess? Personally, I don't think that matters because if you really wanna see how good we are... Then, how 'bout a duel?" Snapping his fingers, Natsumi and Akiko disappeared into a swirl of blue flames, appearing as a pair of katana in his hands.

Anya sniffed indignantly and held her hand out to the side. Sighing, Tsugumi transformed into a halberd with a flash of light. "Very well. But, we'll need a faculty member to referee."

Shibusen: Room 112

As it turns out, Room 112 wasn't very difficult to find. It was on the first floor of Shibusen, right next to the Mission Board. Inside the classroom, amidst the usual activities; Maka sat quietly, trying to tune out some of the chaos around her by reading as Dr. Stein took attendance. She knew exactly what was going on. Kidd was having a symmetry episode and was obsessing over the picture frames back at Gallows Mansion while Liz and Patti were doing everything they could to keep him from leaving. Black Star was off daydreaming, as usual. Tsubaki was probably trying to get him to focus and Soul decided to take a nap before class started. This was her daily routine and it was slightly comforting that everything had finally returned to normal. No matter how odd it was.

That is of course, until Kilik and the Pot twins burst through the door.

"You gotta get check this out!" Kilik ran up to the group of seven with Fire and Thunder in tail. "Some sophomore just challenged one of those recruits to a fight!"

Black Star snorted and leaned back in his chair. It was no secret that Shibusen had a standing rule about duels. Students could challenge each other to fights, as long as there was a faculty member present, just in case things got too dangerous. "So? Fights happen all the time. That's kind of how Shibusen works."

Kilik nodded as Fire and Thunder wordlessly conveyed their awe. "Well, yeah! That's what me and Ox thought. But this guy's nuts! He tried throwing his swords at that sophomore girl, Anya Hepburn!"

Dr. Stein snapped the grade book shut, having just finished attendance. "This new student, what did he look like?"

Kilik shrugged. "Hard to miss him. He was wearing one of those Bruce Lee jackets. A bright red one, why?"

Stein gave the screw in his head a quick turn. "Class, today's dissection of the rare Hoatzin bird has been canceled. Instead, I'd like you to read chapters 12-15 in your _Wavelength Theory and Application_ textbooks and take notes. Spartoi members, follow me." Stein proclaimed, much to the joy of the entire class and rolled out of the classroom. Maybe he could use this fight to teach Spartoi a quick lesson.

(Shibusen's Front Yard)

Maka watched the duel play out and wrinkled her nose. What were they supposed to be learning from this? After all, it was just another duel between students, right? "I don't get it Dr. Stein. What's so important about this fight?"

Dr. Stein looked at Maka and the confused faces of Spartoi's other members. He could tell they all had the same question on their minds as well. "Simple, I want you to watch and tell me what you see without using Soul Perception. Catching critical details, such as subtle flaws in an enemy's technique can easily make or break a fight. So, let's start with you Kilik. What do you think?"

Kilik looked back at the duel. Taiyun quickly blocked Anya's halberd with his Weapons, parrying another strike and following through to land a roundhouse kick into her side. "Well, he's pretty good. I mean, whenever he attacks, he's making sure to get close and he's got great reflexe, too. But there's something about his movements. It's sorta like he's shifting from offense to defense, adapting to whatever Anya throws at him, flowing. You know, like water..."

"What?" Maka cocked her head to the side and watched the Hong Kong Meister step back dodging another halberd swing before leaning forward and swinging at the Anya's legs. She read all sorts of training manuals when she was first became a Meister. But, not a single one mentioned that concept of flowing. Why was it so important

"It's a key concept of Jeet Kune Do." Tsubaki explained, still watching the fight. "A martial art known for using any advantage, by incorporating the useful and discarding the meaningless. Being like water allows the body to react without hesitation. But, it _does_ seem to me like he's a bit reckless."

"That's right." Stein nodded, watching as Taiyun threw his swords to the side. Stepping into Anya's swing, he blocked the halberd's shaft with his arm. Tucking the pole under his arm, he then launched a fist straight into the rival Meister's stomach.

"Not so good at close range-" Taiyun stopped as he was lifted into the air and slammed to the ground.

Anya shrieked, slamming Taiyun into the ground repeatedly before flinging him away. "Unhand! My! Weapon! Posthaste!"

Taiyun winced and rubbed the back of his head before getting back on his feet. "Well, that worked _a lot_ better in my head.""But, I guess I should stop messing around now."

"What _are _you talking about?" Anya asked indignantly.

Taiyun cracked his neck, completely ignoring the aristocratic girl as a pair of familiar Katana reappeared in his hands. "Natsumi, Akiko! Let's go, _Tamashi no Kyoumei!_"

"Hey, Anya? W-What's going on?" Tsugumi's voice echoed from the Halberd.

"Soul Resonance? How? T-They can't.. They shouldn't..." Anya stuttered.

_"Xingqiujian: Yinhe!_" Taiyun smirked then rushed forward. Only to be stopped by Dr. Stein, sitting on his office chair, who blocked the attack bare-handed.

Dr. Stein, straightened up in his chair and adjusted his glasses. "That's quite enough of that. Anya, I'm disappointed in you. Aside from underestimating your opponent, your technique was poor. I'm going to have to recommend you take a remedial exercises." He then turned to the Hong Kong team. "As for you, Taiyun. You fought well. But, you were reckless in throwing aside your weapons and trying to fight unarmed. Keep that up and you'll get seriously injured, maybe worse."

Stein started to roll off in his wheel before stopping and turning to Taiyun and the twins. "By the way, you three were late. So, you'll be on clean-up duty for the next few weeks. "

"Things can only improve from here, right?" Taiyun asked weakly as he watched Dr. Stein roll away.

Natsumi slapped her partner upside the head. "For _your _sake I hope so. Our first day at Shibusen and you wind up getting the three of us in trouble. I mean, things can't possibly get any worse, Now c'mon I think the bell's gonna ring soon"

Shibusen: The Death Room

Lord Death stood before his faculty and tilted his head curiously. It was the first day of classes for the recruits and he wanted to know how they were coping with their schedules. "Well~ How did the new teams do on their first day? There wasn't too much trouble right?"

Marie nodded. "Well yes, many of them did relatively well. Though there were some issues like getting Misao to understand she couldn't use the hallway candles to cook marshmallows or Chelsea's inexplicable fear of Sid. And, apparently Taiyun got into a fight earlier this morning."

The god of Death tilted to the side. "Really? How'd he do?"

At this point, Stein entered the room, turning the screw in his head. "From what I heard from Sid and saw for myself, he did fairly well. He's a bit unpolished and he does tend to get careless, but I think he has potential. What are you thinking sir?"

Lord Death shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno~! Just wonderin', that's all! Besides, isn't that why they're here?"

**AN: Look, I don't know how Shibusen works or what grade Maka's class is. So, let's just say Crescent Moon are the Shibusen equivalent of juniors and Anya and Tsugumi at sophomores. Also, if Maka seems out of character let me explain. I always figured that Maka defaulted to books when she wants to learn something. For example, in the manga, she read books related to music to try and understand Soul's love for it. So, I figure Maka learned how to fight from a combination of classes and reading training manuals. I'm really sorry if the Jeet Kune Do any justice doesn't do it any justice. I'm trying to explain it without being too technical. Anyway, I'd appreciate the feedback. So, please review!**


End file.
